3  182202510  1593 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 

SAN  DIEQO 


OF  CALIFORNIA,  SAN  DIEGO 


n 


3  182202510  1593 


1 545 


MEMOIRS 


Of 


ROBERT-HOUDIN 


AMBASSADOR,  AUTHOR,  AND  CONJURER. 


WRITTEN  BY  HIMSELF. 


EDITED  BY 

DR.   R.   SHELTON  MACKENZIE. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

GEO.    Q.    EVANS,    PUBLISHER, 
NO.  438  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


1859. 

15354 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1859,  by 
G.   G.   EVANS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania. 


STEREOTYPED  AND  PRINTED  BY  RINGWALT  k  CO., 
84  SOUTH  THIRD  STREET. 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


A  MAN  may  not  only  "take  his  own  life,"  by  writing  his 
autobiography,  without  committing  felo  de  se,  but  may  carry 
himself  into  future  time  by  producing  a  book  which  the 
world  will  not  willingl/ let  die.  This  is  what  M.  Robert- 
Houdin,  the  greatest  artist  in  what  is  called  Conjuring,  has 
lately  done  in  the  remarkable  book  Confidences  d'un  Pres- 
tigiteur,  a  faithful  translation  of  which  is  here  presented 
to  the  American  reading  public.  The  work  has  had  the 
greatest  success  in  Europe,  from  its  lively  style  as  well  as 
the  various  information  it  contains,  historical  and  philo- 
sophical, on  the  practice  and  principles  of  sleight-of-hand, 
and  the  other  details,  mental  as  well  as  mechanical,  which 
unite  to  make  perfect  the  exhibition  of  White  Magic,  the 
antipodes  of  what  our  forefathers  knew,  persecuted,  and 
punished  as  the  Black  Art. 

Houdin  has  been  considered  of  such  importance  and  in- 
terest in  France,  that  in  Didot's  Nouvelle  Biographie  Gr£n£- 
rale,  now  in  course  of  publication  at  Paris,  a  whole  page  is 
given  to  him.  From  this  memoir,  and  from  his  own  account 


4  EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 

in  the  pages  which  follow,  we  learn  that  he  was  born  at 
Blois,  on  the  6th  December,  1805, —  that  his  father,  a 
watchmaker  in  that  city,  gave  him  a  good  education  at  the 
College  of  Orleans, —  that  his  inclination  for  escamotage  (or 
juggling)  was  so  decided  as  to  make  him  averse  to  pursue 
his  father's  trade, —  that  he  early  exhibited  great  taste  for 
mechanical  inventions,  which  he  so  successfully  cultivated 
that,  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1844,  he  was  awarded  a 
medal  for  the  ingenious  construction  of  several  automata, — 
that,  having  studied  the  displays  of  the  great  masters  on 
the  art  of  juggling,  he  opened  a  theatre  of  his  own,  in  the 
Palais  Royal  in  Paris,  to  which  his  celebrated  soirees  fan- 
tastiques  attracted  crowds, —  that,  in  1848,  when  the  Re- 
volution had  ruined  all  theatrical  speculations  in  Paris,  he 
visited  London,  where  his  performances  at  St.  James's 
Theatre  were  universally  attractive  and  lucrative, —  that 
he  made  a  tour  through  Great  Britain  with  equal  success, 
returning  to  Paris  when  France  had  settled  down  quietly 
under  the  rule  of  a  President, —  that  he  subsequently  visited 
many  other  parts  of  Europe,  every  where  received  with  dis- 
tinction and  applause, —  that  at  the  Great  Parisian  Exhibi- 
tion of  1855,  he  was  awarded  the  gold  medal  for  his  scien- 
tific application  of  electricity  to  clocks, —  that,  shortly 
after,  he  closed  ten  years  of  active  public  life  by  relinquish- 
ing his  theatre  to  Mr.  Hamilton,  his  brother-in-law,  retir- 
ing with  a  well-earned  competency  to  Blois, —  and  that, 
in  1857,  at  the  special  request  of  the  French  Government, 
which  desired  to  lessen  the  influence  of  the  Marabouts, 
whose  conjuring  tricks,  accepted  as  actual  magic  by  the 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE.  5 

Arabs,  gave  them  too  much  influence,  he  went  to  Algeria, 
as  a  sort  of  Ambassador,  to  play  off  his  tricks  against 
theirs,  and,  by  greater  marvels  than  they  could  shew,  de- 
stroy the  prestige  which  they  had  acquired.  He  so  com- 
pletely succeeded  that  the  Arabs  lost  all  faith  in  the  mira- 
cles of  the  Marabouts,  and  thus  was  destroyed  an  influence 
very  dangerous  to  the  French  Government. 

In  his  retirement,  to  which  he  has  returned,  Houdin 
wrote  his  Confidences,  and  is  now  devoting  himself  to  scien- 
tific researches  connected  with  electricity.  Before  the 
appearance  of  his  own  work,  M.  Hatin  had  published,  in 
1857,  Robert-  Houdin,  sa  vie,  ses  ceuvres,  son  theatre. 

The  French  a^id  English  critics  have  generally  and 
warmly  eulogized  M.  Houdin's  Confidences,  and  I  am  per- 
suaded that,  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  it  will  be  con- 
sidered an  instructive  as  well  as  an  amusing  volume. 

One  error  which  M.  Houdin  makes  must  not  be  passed 
over.  His  account  of  M.  de  Kempelen's  celebrated  automa- 
ton chess-player  (afterwards  Maelzel's)  is  entirely  wrong. 
This  remarkable  piece  of  mechanism  was  constructed  in 
1769,  and  not  in  1796 ;  it  was  the  Empress  Maria-Theresa 
of  Austria  who  played  with  it,  and  not  Catherine  II.  of 
Russia ;  it  was  in  1783  that  it  first  visited  Paris,  where  it 
played  at  the  Cafe"  de  la  R^gence ;  it  was  not  taken  to 
London  until  1784 ;  and  again  in  1819 ;  it  was  brought 
to  America  in  1825,  by  M.  Maelzel,  and  visited  our  prin- 
cipal cities,  its  chief  resting-place  being  Philadelphia ;  M. 
Maelzel's  death  was  in  1838,  on  the  voyage  from  Cuba  to  the 
United  States,  and  not,  as  M.  Houdin  says,  on  his  return 


,6  EDITOR'S  PEEFACE. 

to  France ;  and  the  automaton,  so  far  from  being  taken 
back  to  France,  was  sold  by  auction  here,  finally  purchased 
by  the  late  Dr.  J.  K.  Mitchell,  of  Philadelphia,  reconstructed 
by  him,  and  finally  deposited  in  the  Chinese  Museum, 
(formerly  Peale's,)  where  it  was  consumed  in  the  great  fire 
which  destroyed  the  National  Theatre,  (now  the  site  of  the 
Continental  Hotel,  corner  of  Ninth  and  Chestnut  streets,) 
and  extending  to  the  Chinese  Museum,  burnt  it  down  on 
July  5th,  1854.  An  interesting  account  of  the  Automaton 
Chess-Player,  written  by  Professor  George  Allen,  of  this 
city,  will  be  found  in  "  The  Book  of  the  First  American 
Chess  Congress,"  recently  published  in  New  York. 

M.  Houdin  is  engaged  now  in  writing" a  volume  explain- 
ing the  manner  in  which  sleight-of-hand  and  other  conjur- 
ing tricks  and  deceptions  are  performed. 

I  have  added  an  Index  to  this  volume,  which  I  trust 
will  be  accepted  as  useful. 

R.  SHELTON  MACKENZIE. 

PHILADELPHIA,  Sept.  26,  1859. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAOB 

My  Birth  and  Parentage — My  Home — The  Lessons  of  Colonel 
Bernard — Paternal  Ambition — My  first  Mechanical  Attempts — 
Had  I  but  a  Rat! — A  Prisoner's  Industry  —  The  Abb6  Lari- 
viere — My  Word  of  Honor — Farewell  to  my  darling  Tools.  ,  17 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  Country  Idler — Dr.  Carlosbach,  Conjurer  and  Professor  of  Mys- 
tification—  The  Sand-bag  and  the  Stirrup  Trick  —  I  turn  Law- 
yer's Clerk,  and  the  Minutes  appear  to  me  very  long — A  small 
Automaton — A  respectful  Protest — I  mount  a  Step  in  the  Office 
—  A  Machine  of  Porter's  Power — The  Acrobatic  Canaries — Mon- 
sieur Roger's  Remonstrances  —  My  Father  decides  that  I  shall 
follow  my  bent  .....  26 


CHAPTER   III. 

My  Cousin  Robert — The  most  important  Event  in  my  Life — How 
a  Man  becomes  a  Sorcerer — My  first  Sleight-of-Hand  Feat — An 
utter  Failure — Practising  the  Eye  and  the  Hand — Curious  Ex- 
periment in  Prestidigitation  —  Monsieur  Noriet — An  Action  more 
ingenious  than  delicate — I  am  Poisoned — Influence  of  Delirium.  42 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

PAGE 

I  return  to  Life — A  strange  Doctor — Torrini  and  Antonio :  a  Con- 
jurer and  a  Fanatic  for  Music — A  Murderer's  Confession  —  A 
perambulating  House — The  Fair  at  Angers  —  A  port  able  Theatre 
— I  witness  for  the  first  Time  a  Conjuring  Performance — The 
blind  Man's  Game  at  Piquet — A  Dangerous  Rival — Signor 
Castelli  eats  a  Man  alive.  ....  55 


CHAPTER  V. 

Antonio's  Confessions — How  to  gain  Public  Applause — The  Count 

de ,  Mountebank — I  repair  an  Automaton — A  Mechanician's 

Shop  on  Wheels — Nomadic  Life  —  Happy  Existence  —  Torrini's 
Lessons  —  His  Opinions  about  Sleight-of-Hand — A  Fashionable 
Greek,  Victim  of  his  own  Swindling — The  Conjurer  Comus — A 
Duel  at  Piquet — Torrini  proclaimed  Conqueror — Revelations 
-H— New  Catastrophe — Poor  Torrini!  ...  73 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Tbrrini  relates  his  Life — Treachery  of  Chevalier  Pinetti — A  Con- 
jurer through  Malice — A  Race  between  two  Magicians — Death 
of  Pinetti — Exhibits  before  Pius  VII.  —  The  Cardinal's  Chro- 
nometer— Twelve  Hundred  Francs  spent  on  a  Trick — Antonio 
and  Antonia — The  most  bitter  of  Mystifications — Constanti- 
nople. .......  90 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Continuation  of  Torrini's  History — The  Grand  Turk  orders  a 
Performance  —  A  marvellous  Trick — A  Page  cut  in  two — Pity- 
ing Protest  of  the  Harem — Agreeable  Surprise — Return  to 
France  —  Torrini's  Son  Killed — Madness  —  Decay  —  My  first 
Performance — An  annoying  Accident — I  return  Home.  .  121 


CONTENTS.  9 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

PAQB 

The  Prodigal  Son — Mademoiselle  Houdin  —  I  go  to  Paris — My 
Marriage — Comte — Studies  of  the  Public — A  skillful  Manager 
— Rose-colored  Tickets — A  Musky  Style — The  King  of  Hearts — 
Ventriloquism  —  The  Mystifiers  Mystified  —  Father  Roujol  — 
Jules  de  Rovere — Origin  of  the  word  prestidigitatuer.  .  136 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Celebrated  Automata — A  Brazen  Fly — The  Artificial  Man — Al- 
bertus  Magnus  and  St.  Thomas  d' Aquinas — Vaucanson — His 
Duck — His  Flute-Player — Curious  Details — The  Automaton 
Chess-Player — Interesting  Episode — Catherine  II.  and  M.  de 
Kempelen — I  repair  the  Componium — Unexpected  Success.  155 


CHAPTER    X. 

An  Inventor's  Calculations — One  Hundred  Thousand  Francs  a  Year 
by  an  Inkstand:  Deception — My  new  Automata — The  First 
Magician  in  France:  Decadence — I  meet  Antonio — Bosco — 
The  Trick  with  the  Cups — An  Execution — Resurrection  of  the 
Criminals — Mistake  in  a  Head — The  Canary  rewarded.  .  176 


CHAPTER    XI. 

A  Reverse  of  Fortune — Cookery  and  Clockwork — The  Artist's 
Home — Invention  of  an  Automaton — Voluntary  Exile — A  mo- 
dest Villa — The  Inconveniences  of  a  Speciality — Two  August 
Visitors — The  Throat  of  a  mechanical  Nightingale — The  Tiou 
and  the  Rrrrrrrrouit — Seven  Thousand  Francs  earned  by  mak- 
ing Filings.  .  '•  •  »  .  •'  .  .  .  192 


10  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XII. 

PAGE 

The  Inventive  Genius  of  a  Sugar-baker — Philippe  the  Magician  — 
His  Comic  Adventures — Description  of  his  Performance — Expo- 
sition of  1844 — The  King  and  Royal  Family  visit  my  Automata.  221 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

My  proposed  Reforms — I  build  a  Theatre  in  the  Palais  Royal  — 
Formalities — General  Rehearsal — Singular  Effect  of  my  Per- 
formance— The  Largest  and  Smallest  Theatre  in  Paris — Tribu- 
lation —  My  first  Performance  —  Panic  —  Discouragement  —  A 
Fallible  Prophet — Recovery — Success.  .  .  .  234 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

New  Studies — A  Comic  Journal — Invention  of  Second  Sight — 
Curious  Experiments — An  enthusiastic  Spectator — Danger  of 
being  a  Sorcerer — A  Philter  or  your  Life — Way  to  get  rid  of 
Bores — An  Electric  Touch — I  perform  at  the  Vaudeville — Strug- 
gles with  the  Incredulous — Interesting  Details.  .  .  263 

CHAPTER    XV. 

Seductions  of  a  Theatrical  Agent — How  to  gain  One  Hundred 
Thousand  Francs  —  I  start  for  Brussels — A  lucky  Two-Sou 
Piece — Miseries  of  professional  Travelling — The  Park  Thea- 
tre—  Tyranny  of  a  Porter  —  Full  House  —  Small  Receipts — 
Deceptions — Return  to  Paris.  ....  273 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

Reopening  of  my  Fantastic  Soir6es —  Minor  Miseries  of  Good 
Luck — Inconvenience  of  a  small  Theatre  —  My  Room  taken  by 
Storm  —  A  gratuitous  Performance — A  conscientious  Audience — 
Pleasant  Story  about  a  Black  Silk  Cap — I  perform  at  the  Cha- 
teau of  St.  Cloud — Cagliostro's  Casket — Holidays.  .  294 


CONTENTS.  11 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

PAQE 

New  Experiments — Aerial  Suspension,  &c. — -A  Performance  at  the 
OdSon— A  Friend  in  Need— 1848— The  Theatre  deserted— I 
leave  Paris  for  London  —  Manager  Mitchell — Publicity  in  Eng- 
land—  The  Great  Wizard — A  Butter-mould  used  as  a  Puff — 
Singular  Bills — A  Prize  for  the  best  Pun.  .  .  .  312 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

The  St.  James's  Theatre — Invasion  of  England  by  French  Per- 
formers— A  Fete  patronised  by  the  Queen — The  Diplomatist 
and  the  Sleight-of-Hand  Man  —  Three  Thousand  Pounds  taken 
at  one  Haul — I  perform  at  Manchester — The  Spectators  in 
the  Pillory — What  capital  Cura90a! — A  Torrent  of  Wine — A 
Catastrophe — Performance  at  Buckingham  Palace — A  Wizard's 
Repast.  ......'.  330 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

An  Optimist  Manager — Three  Spectators  in  a  Room — A  Magical 
Collation  —  The  Colchester  Public  and  the  Nuts — I  return  to 
France — I  give  up  my  Theatre — A  Farewell  Tour — I  retire 
to  St.  Gervais  —  An  Academician's  Predictions.  359 


CHAPTER    XX. 

Travels  in  Algeria — Convocation  of  the  Chieftains — Performances 
before  the  Arabs — A  Kabyle  rendered  powerless — Invulner- 
ability— A  Moor  disappears — Panic  and  Flight  of  the  Au- 
dience— Reconciliation — The  Sect  of  Ai'ssaoua — Their  pretend- 
ed Miracles.  871 


12  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

PAGE. 

Excursion   in  the   Interior   of  Africa — The    Abode   of  a    Bash- 
Aga — A   comical  Repast — A   Soiree  of  Arab   Dignitaries — A 
Marabout  mystified — Tent-life  in  Algeria — I  return  to  France — 
A  terrible  Storm — Conclusion.  ....         398 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

A  COURSE  OF  MIRACLES.      .....  422 

INDEX.  .  437 


THE  AUTHOR'S  OVERTURE. 


SAINT  GERVAIS,  NEAR  BLOIS, 
September,  1858. 

EIGHT  o'clock  has  just  struck :  my  wife  and  children 
are  by  my  side.  I  have  spent  one  of  those  pleasant  days 
which  tranquillity,  work,  and  study  can  alone  secure. — • 
With  no  regret  for  the  past,  with  no  fear  for  the  future,  I 
am — I  am  not  afraid  to  say  it — as  happy  as  man  can  be. 

And  yet,  at  each  vibration  of  this  mysterious  hour,  my 
pulse  starts,  my  temples  throb,  and  I  can  scarce  breathe, 
so  much  do  I  feel  the  want  of  air  and  motion.  I  can 
reply  to  no  questions,  so  thoroughly  am  I  lost  in  a  strange 
and  delirious  reverie. 

Shall  I  confess  to  you,  reader.  And  why  not  ?  for  this 
electrical  effect  is  not  of  a  nature  to  be  easily  understood 
by  you. 

The  reason  for  my  emotion  being  extreme  at  this  moment 
is,  that,  during  my  professional  career,  eight  o'clock  was 
the  moment  when  I  must  appear  before  the  public.  Then, 


14  THE  AUTHOR'S  OVERTURE. 

with  my  eye  eagerly  fixed  on  the  hole  in  the  curtain,  I 
surveyed  with  intense  pleasure  the  crowd  that  flocked  in 
to  see  me.  Then,  as  now,  my  heart  beat,  for  I  was  proud 
and  happy  of  such  success. 

At  times,  too,  a  doubt,  a  feeling  of  uneasiness,  would 
be  mingled  with  my  pleasure.  "Heavens  !"  I  would  say 
to  myself,  in  terror,  "  am  I  so  sure  of  myself  as  to  deserve 
such  anxiety  to  see  me  ?" 

But,  soon  reassured  by  the  past,  I  waited  with  greater 
calmness  the  signal  for  the  curtain  to  draw  up.  I  then 
walked  on  the  stage :  I  was  near  the  foot-lights,  before 
my  judges — but  no,  I  err — before  my  kind  spectators, 
whose  applause  I  was  in  hopes  to  gain. 

Do  you  now  understand,  reader,  all  the  reminiscences 
this  hour  evokes  in  me,  and  the  solemn  feeling  that  con- 
tinually occurs  to  me  when  the  clock  strikes  ? 

These  emotions  and  souvenirs  are  not  at  all  painful  to 
me :  on  the  contrary,  I  summon  them  up  with  pleasure. 
At  times  I  even  mentally  transport  myself  to  my  stage, 
in  order  to  prolong  them.  There,  as  before,  I  ring  the 
bell,  the  curtain  rises,  I  see  my  audience  again,  and, 
under  the  charm  of  this  sweet  illusion,  I  delight  in  telling 
them  the  most  interesting  episodes  of  my  professional  life. 
I  tell  them  how  a  man  learns  his  real  vocation,  how  the 
struggle  with  difficulties  of  every  nature  begins,  how,  in 
fact 


THE  AUTHOR'S  OVERTURE.  15 

But  why  should  I  not  convert  this  fiction  into  a  reality  ? 
Could  I  not,  each  evening  when  the  clock  strikes  eight, 
continue  my  performances  under  another  form  ?  My  public 
shall  be  the  reader,  and  my  stage  a  book. 

This  idea  pleases  me :  I  accept  it  with  joy,  and  imme- 
diately give  way  to  the  sweet  illusion.  Already  I  fancy 
myself  in  the  presence  of  spectators  whose  kindness 
encourages  me.  I  imagine  they  are  waiting  for  me — they 
are  listening  eagerly. 

Without  further  hesitation  I  begin. 

ROBERT-HOUDIN. 


MEMOIRS 


OF 


KOBERT-HOUDIN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

My  Birth  and  Parentage — My  Home — The  Lessons  of  Colonel  Bernard 
— Paternal  Ambition — My  first  Mechanical  Attempts — Had  I  but  a 
Rat! — A  Prisoner's  Industry — The  Abbe"  Lariviere — My  Word  of 
Honor  —  Farewell  to  my  darling  Tools. 

IN  conformity  with  the  traditional  custom  which  expects 
every  man  who  writes  his  memoirs — or  not  to  use  too 
strong  language,  his  confessions — to  display  his  patent  of 
gentility,  I  commence  by  stating  to  my  readers,  with  a 
certain  degree  of  pride,  that  I  was  horn  at  Blois,  the 
birthplace  of  Louis  XII.,  surnamed  the  "Father  of  his 
People,"  and  of  Denis  Papin,  the  illustrious  inventor  of 
the  steam-engine. 

So  much  for  my  native  town.  As  for  my  family,  it 
would  only  appear  natural,  regard  being  had  to  the  art  to 
which  I  devoted  my  life,  that  I  should  display  in  my 
family  tree  the  name  of  Robert  le  Diable,  or  of  some 
medizeval  sorcerer ;  but,  being  the  very  slave  of  truth,  I 

B 


18  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

will  content  myself  with  stating  that  my  father  was  a 
watchmaker. 

Though  he  did  not  rise  to  the  elevation  of  the  Berthouds 
and  the  Breguets,  my  father  was  reputed  to  be  very  skil- 
ful in  his  profession.  In  fact,  I  am  only  displaying  our 
hereditary  modesty  when  I  say  that  my  father's  talents 
were  confined  to  a  single  art ;  for,  in  truth,  nature  had 
adapted  him  for  various  branches  of  mechanics,  and  the 
activity  of  his  mind  led  him  to  try  them  all  with  equal 
ardor.  An  excellent  engraver,  a  jeweller  of  the  greatest 
taste,  he  at  the  same  time  could  carve  the  arm  or  leg  for 
some  fractured  statuette,  restore  the  enamel  on  any  time- 
worn  porcelain,  or  even  repair  musical  snuff-boxes,  which 
were  very  fashionable  in  those  days.  The  skill  he  evinced 
in  these  varied  arts  at  length  procured  him  a  most  nume- 
rous body  of  customers ;  but,  unfortunately,  he  was  wont 
to  make  any  repairs  not  strictly  connected  with  his  own 
business  for  the  mere  pleasure. 

In  this  house,  which  I  may  almost  term  artistic,  and  in 
the  midst  of  tools  and  implements  in  which  I  was  destined 
to  take  so  lively  an  interest,  I  was  born  and  educated.  I 
possess  an  excellent  memory,  still,  though  my  reminis- 
cences date  back  so  far,  I  cannot  remember  the  day  of 
my  birth.  I  have  learned  since,  however,  that  it  was  the 
6th  of  December,  1805.  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  I 
came  into  the  world  with  a  file  or  a  hammer  in  my  hand, 
for,  from  my  earliest  youth,  those  implements  were  my 
toys  and  delight :  I  learned  how  to  use  them  as  other 
children  learn  to  walk  and  talk.  I  need  not  say  that  my 
excellent  mother  had  frequently  to  wipe  away  the  young 
mechanic's  tears,  when  the  hammer,  badly  directed,  struck 
my  fingers.  As  for  my  father,  he  laughed  at  these  slight 
accidents,  and  said,  jokingly,  that  it  was  a  capital  way  of 


MY  LOVE  OF  TOOLS.  19 

driving  my  profession  into  me,  and  that,  as  I  was  a  won- 
derful lad,  I  could  not  but  become  an  extraordinary  work- 
man. I  do  not  pretend  that  I  ever  realized  the  paternal 
predictions,  but  it  is  certain  that  I  have  ever  felt  an  irre- 
sistible inclination  for  mechanism. 

How  often,  in  my  infantile  dreams,  did  a  benevolent 
fairy  open  before  me  the  door  of  a  mysterious  El  Dorado, 
where  tools  of  every  description  were  piled  up.  The 
delight  which  these  dreams  produced  on  me,  were  the 
same  as  any  other  child  feels  when  his  fancy  summons  up 
before  him  a  fantastic  country  where  the  houses  are  made 
of  chocolate,  the  stones  of  sugar  candy,  and  the  men  of 
gingerbread.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  this  fever  for 
tools ;  the  mechanic,  the  artist  adores  them,  and  would 
ruin  himself  to  obtain  them.  Tools,  in  fact,  are  to  him 
what  a  MS.  is  to  the  archaeologist,  a  coin  to  the  antiquary, 
or  a  pack  of  cards  to  a  gambler :  in  a  word  they  are  the 
implements  by  which  a  ruling  passion  is  fed. 

By  the  time  I  was  eight  years  of  age  I  had  furnished 
proofs  of  my  ability,  partly  through  the  kindness  of  an 
excellent  neighbor,  and  partly  through  a  dangerous  illness, 
when  my  forced  idleness  gave  me  leisure  to  exercise  my 
natural  dexterity.  This  neighbor,  M.  Bernard,  was  a 
colonel  on  half-pay.  Having  been  a  prisoner  for  many 
years,  he  had  learned  how  to  make  an  infinity  of  toys, 
which  he  taught  me  as  an  amusement,  and  I  profited  so 
well  by  his  lessons,  that  in  a  very  short  time  I  could  equal 
my  master.  I  fancy  I  can  still  see  and  hear  this  old  sol- 
dier, when,  passing  his  hand  over  his  heavy  grey  mous- 
tache, he  exclaimed  with  energetic  satisfaction,  "  Why, 
the  young  scamp  can  do  anything  he  likes."  This  com- 
pliment flattered  my  childish  vanity,  and  I  redoubled  my 
efforts  to  deserve  it. 


20  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

With  my  illness  my  pleasures  ended ;  I  was  sent  to 
school,  and  from  that  time  I  had  few  opportunities  for 
indulging  in  my  favorite  tasks.  Still,  on  my  holidays,  I 
used  to  return  to  my  father's  workshop  with  delight,  and, 
yet,  I  must  have  been  a  great  torment  to  that  excellent 
parent.  Owing  to  my  want  of  skill,  I  now  and  then 
broke  some  tool,  and  although  I  might  try  to  conceal  it, 
the  blame  was  generally  laid  on  me,  and,  as  a  punishment, 
1  was  forbidden  to  enter  the  workshop.  But  it  was  of  no 
use  attempting  to  keep  me  from  my  hobby ;  the  prohibition 
had  to  be  continually  renewed.  Hence  it  was  thought 
advisable  to  attack  the  evil  at  the  root,  and  I  must  be  sent 
away  from  home. 

Although  my  father  liked  his  trade,  experience  had 
taught  him  that  a  watchmaker  rarely  makes  a  fortune  in 
a  country  town ;  in  his  paternal  ambition  he,  therefore, 
dreamed  a  more  brilliant  destiny  for  me,  and  he  formed 
the  determination  of  giving  me  a  liberal  education,  for 
which  I  shall  always  feel  grateful  to  him.  He  sent  me 
to  college  at  Orleans.  I  was  then  eleven  years  of  age. 

Let  who  will  sing  the  praises  of  school  life ;  for  my  own 
part  I  can  safely  state,  that,  though  I  was  not  averse  from 
study,  the  happiest  day  I  spent  in  our  monastic  seminary 
was  that  on  which  I  left  it  for  good.  However,  once 
entered,  I  accepted  my  lot  with  resignation,  and  became  in 
a  short  time  a  perfect  schoolboy.  In  my  play  hours  my 
time  was  well  employed,  for  I  spent  the  greater  portion 
of  it  in  making  pieces  of  mechanism.  Thus  I  made 
snares,  gins,  and  mouse-traps,  their  excellent  arrange- 
ment, and  perhaps  the  dainty  bait  as  well,  producing  me 
a  great  number  of  prisoners. 

I  had  built  for  them  a  charming  open  cage,  in  which  I 
had  fixed  up  a  miniature  gymnastic  machinery.  My  pris- 


I  GO  TO  SCHOOL.  21 

oners,  while  taking  their  ease,  set  in  motion  a  variety  of 
machines,  which  caused  a  most  agreeable  surprise.  One 
of  my  inventions  more  especially  attracted  the  admiration 
of  my  comrades ;  it  was  a  method  of  raising  water  by 
means  of  a  pump  made  almost  entirely  of  quills.  A 
mouse,  harnessed  like  a  horse,  was  intended  to  set  this 
Lilliputian  machine  in  motion  by  the  muscular  strength 
of  its  legs ;  but,  unfortunately,  my  docile  animal,  though 
perfectly  willing,  could  not  overcome  the  resistance  of  the 
cog-wheels,  and  I  was  forced,  to  my  great  regret,  to  lend 
it  a  hand. 

"Ah!  if  I  only  had  a  rat!"  I  said  to  myself,  in  my 
disappointment,  "how  famously  it  would  work !"  A  rat ! 
But  how  to  get  one  ?  That  appeared  to  me  an  insur- 
mountable difficulty,  but,  after  all,  it  was  not  so.  One 
day,  having  been  caught  in  the  act  of  breaking  bounds  by 
a  monitor,  I  was  awarded  twelve  hours'  imprisonment. 
This  punishment,  which  I  suffered  for  the  first  time,  pro- 
duced a  violent  effect  on  me  :  but  in  the  midst  of  the  sor- 
rowful reflections  inspired  by  the  solitude,  an  idea  dissipa- 
ted my  melancholy  thoughts  by  offering  a  famous  sugges- 
tion. 

I  knew  that  at  nightfall  the  rats  used  to  come  from  an 
adjacent  church  into  the  cell  where  I  was  confined,  to 
regale  on  the  bread-crumbs  left  by  prisoners.  It  was  a 
capital  opportunity  to  obtain  one  of  the  animals  I  required ; 
and  as  I  would  not  let  it  slip,  I  straight-way  set  about 
inventing  a  rat-trap.  My  only  materials  were  a  pitcher 
holding  water,  and,  consequently,  my  ideas  were  confined 
exclusively  to  this.  I,  therefore,  made  the  following 
arrangement.  •  v-* 

I  began  by  emptying  my  pitcher ;  then,  after  putting 
in  a  piece  of  bread,  I  laid  it  down  so  that  the  orifice  was 


22  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

on  a  level  with  the  ground.  My  object  was  to  attract  the 
victim  by  this  dainty  into  the  trap.  A  brick  which  I  dug 
up  would  serve  to  close  the  opening,  but  as  it  was  impos- 
sible for  me  in  the  darkness  to  notice  the  exact  moment 
for  cutting  off  the  prisoner's  retreat,  I  laid  near  the  bread 
a  piece  of  paper  which  would  rustle  as  the  rat  passed 
over  it. 

As  soon  as  night  set  in,  I  crouched  close  to  my  pitcher, 
and,  holding  the  brick  in  my  hand,  I  awaited  with  feverish 
anxiety  the  arrival  of  my  guests.  The  pleasure  I  antici- 
pated from  the  capture  must  have  been  excessive  to  over- 
come my  timidity  when  I  heard  the  first  leaps  of  my 
savage  visitors.  I  confess  that  the  antics  they  performed 
round  my  legs  occasioned  me  great  nervousness,  for  I 
knew  not  how  far  the  voracity  of  these  intrepid  rodents 
might  extend ;  still,  I  kept  my  ground,  not  making  the 
slightest  movement,  through  fear  of  compromising  the 
success  of  my  scheme,  and  was  prepared  to  offer  the 
assailants  a  vigorous  resistance  in  case  of  an  attack. 

More  than  an  hour  passed  in  vain  expectation,  and  I 
was  beginning  to  despair  of  the  success  of  my  trap,  when 
I  fancied  I  heard  the  slight  sound  I  hoped  for  as  a  signal. 
I  laid  the  brick  on  the  mouth  of  the  pitcher  directly,  and 
raised  it  up  ;  the  shrill  cries  inside  convinced  me  of  my 
success,  and  I  began  a  paean  of  triumph,  both  to  celebrate 
my  victory  and  to  frighten  away  my  prisoner's  comrades. 
The  porter,  when  he  came  to  release  me,  helped  me  to 
master  my  rat  by  fastening  a  piece  of  twine  to  one  of  his 
hind  legs,  and  burdened  with  my  precious  booty,  I  pro- 
ceeded to  the  dormitory,  where  masters  and  pupils  had 
been  asleep  for  a  long  time.  I  was  glad  enough  to  sleep 
too,  but  a  difficulty  presented  itself — how  should  I  bestow 
my  prisoner  ? 


A  NOVEL  RAT-TRAP.  23 

At  length  a  bright  idea  occurred  to  me,  fully  worthy  of 
a  schoolboy :  it  was  to  thrust  the  rat  headforemost  into 
one  of  my  shoes.  After  fastening  the  twine  to  the  leg 
of  my  bed,  I  pushed  the  shoe  into  one  of  my  stockings, 
and  placed  the  whole  in  the  leg  of  my  trousers.  This 
being  accomplished,  I  believed  I  could  go  to  bed  without 
the  slightest  cause  for  apprehension.  The  next  morning, 
at  five  exactly,  the  inspector  took  a  turn  through  the  dor- 
mitory to  arouse  the  sleepers. 

"Dress  yourself  directly,"  he  said,  in  that  amiable  voice 
peculiaV  to  gentlemen  who  have  risen  too  soon. 

I  proceeded  to  obey  but  I  was  fated  to  dire  disgrace  : 
the  rat  I  had  packed  away  so  carefully,  not  finding  its 
quarters  airy  enough,  had  thought  proper  to  gnaw  through 
my  shoe,  my  stocking,  and  my  trouser,  and  was  taking 
the  air  through  this  improvised  window.  Fortunately,  it 
had  not  cut  through  the  retaining  string,  so  the  rest  was 
a  trifle. 

But  the  inspector  did  not  regard  matters  in  the  same 
light  as  I  did.  The  capture  of  a  rat  and  the  injury  to 
my  clothes  were  considered  further  aggravations  of  my 
previous  offence,  and  he  sent  in  a  lengthy  report  to  the 
head-master.  I  was  obliged  to  appear  before  the  latter 
dressed  in  the  clothes  that  bore  the  proof  of  my  offence, 
and,  by  an  unlucky  coincidence,  shoe,  stocking  and  trou- 
ser were  all  injured  on  the  same  leg.  The  Abbd  Larivi&re 
(our  head-master)  managed  the  college  with  truly  paternal 
care ;  ever  just,  and  prone  by  nature  to  forgiveness,  he 
was  adored  by  his  pupils,  and  to  be  out  of  favor  with  him 
was  regarded  as  the  severest  punishment. 

"Well,  Robert,"  he  said  to  me,  looking  kindly  over  the 
spectacles  which  bridged  the  end  of  his  nose,  "  I  under- 
stand you  have  been  guilty  of  grave  faults.  Come,  tell 
me  the  whole  truth." 


24  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

I  possessed  at  that  time  a  quality  which,  I  trust,  I  have 
not  lost  since,  and  that  is  extreme  frankness.  I  gave  the 
Abbe*  a  full  account  of  my  misdeeds,  and  my  sincerity 
gained  me  pardon.  The  head-master,  after  a  vain  attempt 
to  repress  it,  burst  into  a  loud  fit  of  laughter,  on  hearing 
the  catastrophe  of  my  adventures.  Still,  he  ended  his 
gentle  lecture  in  the  following  words  : 

"I  will  not  scold  you  any  more,  Robert.  I  believe  in 
your  repentance :  twelve  hours'  confinement  are  sufficient 
punishment,  and  I  grant  you  your  release.  I  will  do 
more :  though  you  are  very  young,  I  will  treat  you  as 
a  man  —  of  honor,  though  —  you  understand  me?  You 
will  pledge  me  your  word  not  only  that  you  will  not  com- 
mit your  old  faults  again,  but,  as  your  passion  for  me- 
chanics makes  you  often  neglect  your  lessons,  you  must 
promise  to  give  up  your  tools,  and  devote  yourself  hence- 
forth to  study." 

"  Oh  yes,  sir,  I  give  you  my  word,"  I  exclaimed,  moved 
to  tears  by  such  unexpected  indulgence;  "and  I  can 
assure  you,  you  will  never  repent  having  put  faith  in  my 
promise." 

"  I  made  up  my  mind  to  keep  my  pledge,  although  I 
was  fully  aware  of  all  the  difficulties,  which  were  so  many 
stumbling-blocks  in  that  path  of  virtue  I  wished  to  follow. 
Much  trouble,  I  had  too,  at  first,  in  withstanding  the 
jests  and  sarcasms  of  the  idler  of  my  comrades,  who,  in 
order  to  hide  their  own  bad  conduct,  strove  to  make  all 
weak  characters  their  accomplices.  Still,  I  broke  with 
them  all.  Sharpest  pang  of  all,  though,  was  the  sacrifice 
I  made  in  burning  my  vessels  —  that  is,  in  putting  aside 
my  cages  and  their  contents ;  I  even  forgot  my  tools,  and 
thus,  free  from  all  external  distraction,  I  devoted  myself 
entirely  to  my  Greek  and  Latin  studies. 


I  LEAVE  COLLEGE.  25 

The  praise  I  received  from  the  Abbd  Larivie're,  who 
prided  himself  in  having  noticed  in  me  the  stuff  for  an 
excellent  scholar,  rewarded  me  for  this  sublime  effort, 
and  I  may  say  I  became,  thenceforth,  one  of  the  most 
studious  and  attentive  lads  in  the  college.  At  times,  I 
certainly  regretted  my  tools  and  my  darling  machinery, 
but  recollecting  my  promise  to  the  head-master,  I  held 
firm  against  all  temptation.  All  I  allowed  myself  was  to 
set  down  by  stealth  on  paper  a  few  ideas  that  occurred  to 
me,  though  I  did  not  know  whether  I  should  ever  have  a 
chance  to  put  them  in  practice. 

At  length  the  moment  arrived  for  my  leaving  college  ; 
my  studies  were  completed — I  was  eighteen  years  of  age. 


26  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  Country  Idler  —  Dr.  Carlosbach,  Conjurer  and  Professor  of  Mystifica- 
tion—  The  Sand-bag  and  the  Stirrup  Trick  —  I  turn  Lawyer's  Clerk, 
and  the  Minutes  appear  to  me  very  long — A  small  Automaton — Are- 
spectful  Protest — I  mount  a  Step  in  the  Office  —  A  Machine  of  Por- 
ter's Power — The  Acrobatic  Canaries; — Monsieur  Roger's  Remon- 
strances —  My  Father  decides  that  I  shall  follow  my  bent. 

IN  the  story  I  have  just  narrated,  only  simple  events 
were  noticeable  —  hardly  worthy,  perhaps,  of  a  man  who 
has  often  passed  for  a  sorcerer  —  but  grant  me  a  few 
pages'  patience,  reader,  as  an  introduction  to  my  artistic 
life,  and  what  you  seek  in  my  book  will  be  displayed  be- 
fore your  eager  gaze.  You  will  know  how  a  magician  is 
produced,  and  you  will  learn  that  the  tree  whence  my 
magic  staff  was  cut  was  only  that  of  persevering  labor, 
often  bedewed  by  the  sweat  of  my  brow :  soon,  too,  when 
you  come  to  witness  my  labors  and  my  anxious  hours  of 
expectation,  you  will  be  able  to  appreciate  the  cost  of  a 
reputation  in  my  mysterious  art. 

On  leaving  college,  I  at  first  enjoyed  all  the  liberty  I 
had  been  deprived  of  for  so  many  years.  The  power  of 
going  right  or  left,  of  speaking  or  remaining  silent,  as  I 
listed,  of  getting  up  sooner  or  later,  according  to  my 
fancy,  was  an  earthly  paradise  for  a  collegian.  I  enjoy- 
ed this  ineffable  pleasure  to  the  fullest  extent :  thus,  in 
the  morning  —  although  habit  made  me  wake  at  five  — 


DR.  CARLOSBACH.  27 

when  the  clock  announced  that  once  so  dreaded  hour,  I 
burst  into  a  loud  laugh,  and  offered  ferocious  challenges  to 
any  number  of  invisible  superintendents ;  then,  satisfied  by 
this  slight  retrospective  vengeance,  I  went  to  sleep  again 
till  breakfast.  After  that  meal  I  went  out  to  indulge  in 
a  pleasant  lounge  about  the  streets ;  and  I  preferred  walk- 
ing in  the  public  promenades,  for  thus  I  had  better  chances 
of  finding  something  to  attract  my  attention.  In  a  word, 
not  an  event  happened  which  I  did  not  know,  and  I  was 
the  real  amateur  "penny-a-liner"  of  my  native  town. 

Many  of  these  incidents  afforded  very  slight  interest ; 
one  day,  however,  I  witnessed  a  scene  which  produced  a 
lasting  effect  upon  me.  One  after-dinner,  while  walking 
along  the  side  of  the  Loire,  engaged  with  the  thoughts 
suggested  by  the  falling  autumn  leaves,  I  was  aroused  from 
my  reverie  by  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  evidently  blown 
by  a  practised  performer.  It  may  be  easily  supposed  that 
I  was  not  the  last  to  obey  this  startling  summons,  and  a 
few  other  idlers  also  formed  a  circle  round  the  performer. 

He  was  a  tall  fellow  with  a  quick  eye,  a  sunburnt  face, 
long  and  crispy  hair,  and  he  stemmed  his  fist  in  his  side, 
while  he  held  his  head  impudently  high.  His  costume, 
though  rather  "loud,"  was  still  cleanly,  and  announced 
a  man  who  probably  had  "some  hay  in  his  boots,"  to  use 
a  favorite  phrase  of  gentlemen  in  the  same  profession. 
He  wore  a  maroon-colored  frock-coat,  trimmed  with  large 
silver  frogs,  while  round  his  neck  was  a  black  silk  cravat, 
the  two  ends  being  passed  through  a  jewelled  ring,  which 
a  millionaire  would  not  have  disdained  —  had  it  not  un- 
fortunately been  paste.  He  wore  no  waistcoat,  but  his 
shirt  was  remarkably  white,  and  on  it  glistened  a  heavy 
mosaic  chain,  with  a  collection  of  appendages,  whose 
metallic  sound  loudly  announced  his  every  movement. 


28  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

I  had  ample  time  to  make  these  observations,  for  as  the 
audience  collected  but  slowly,  the  stranger  continued  his 
trumpet  overture  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour ;  at  length,  when 
an  average  crowd  had  assembled,  the  trumpet  made  way 
for  the  human  voice.  The  artist  laid  the  instrument  on 
the  ground,  and  walked  round  majestically  to  form  a  ring ; 
then,  stopping,  he  passed  his  hand  through  his  hair,  and 
began  his  address.  Being  little  used  to  this  charlatanism 
in  the  streets,  I  regarded  the  man  with  confiding  admira- 
tion and  determined  not  to  lose  a  word  of  his  address. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  commenced,  in  a  firm  and  sonorous 
voice,  "pray  hear  me.  I  am  not  what  I  seem  to  be;  I 
may  say  more,  I  am  what  I  do  not  seem  to  be.  Yes,  gen- 
tlemen, yes  —  confess  it  —  you  take  me  for  one  of  those 
scurvy  beggars  who  want  to  draw  a  few  halfpence  from 
your  generosity.  Well,  you  may  undeceive  yourselves. 
Though  you  see  me  on  this  spot  to-day,  I  tell  you  that  I 
have  only  come  here  for  the  relief  of  suffering  humanity 
in  general,  then  for  your  welfare  in  particular,  as  well  as 
for  your  amusement." 

Here  the  orator,  whose  accent  plainly  showed  that  he 
came  from  the  banks  of  the  Garonne,  passed  his  hand 
once  more  through  his  hair,  raised  his  head,  sucked  his 
lips,  and,  assuming  an  air  of  majestic  dignity,  continued : 

"I  will  tell  you  presently  who  I  am,  and  you  will  be 
able  to  estimate  me  at  my  true  value ;  in  the  mean  while 
allow  me  to  offer  you  a  slight  specimen  of  my  skill." 

The  artist,  having  then  formed  the  circle  afresh,  placed 
before  him  a  small  table,  on  which  he  arranged  three  tin 
goblets,  so  well  polished  that  they  might  have  been  taken 
for  silver ;  after  which  he  fastened  round  his  waist  a  red 
cotton  velvet  bag,  into  which  he  thrust  his  hands  for  some 
minutes  —  doubtlessly  to  prepare  the  tricks  he  intended  to 
display  —  and  the  performance  commenced. 


A  PUBLIC  BENEFACTOR.  29 

During  a  long  series  of  tricks,  the  nutmegs,  at  first  in- 
visible, appeared  at  the  finger  ends  of  the  conjuror ;  then, 
they  passed  through  the  cups,  under  the  table,  into  a 
spectator's  pockets,  and  finally  emerged,  to  the  general 
delight,  from  the  nose  of  a  young  looker-on.  The  latter 
took  the  matter  quite  seriously,  and  half  killed  himself 
with  sneezing,  to  see  whether  a  few  more  spice  balls  might 
not  be  left  in  his  brain.  The  address  with  which  these 
tricks  were  done,  and  the  apparent  simplicity  of  the  oper- 
ator in  the  execution  of  these  ingenious  artifices,  produced 
the  most  perfect  illusion  —  at  least,  as  far  as  I  was  con- 
cerned. 

It  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  witnessed  such  a  sight : 
I  was  stupefied,  astounded !  The  man  who  could  perform 
such  marvels  at  his  will  seemed  to  me  a  superhuman  being ; 
hence  I  saw  him  put  aside  his  cups  with  considerable  re- 
gret. The  audience  seemed  equally  charmed ;  the  artist 
perceived  it,  and  took  advantage  of  it,  by  making  a  sign 
that  he  had  a  few  mere  words  to  say.  Then,  resting  his 
hand  on  the  table,  he  proceeded : 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen !  I  was  very  pleased  to  notice 
the  kind  attention  you  devoted  to  my  tricks,  and  I  thank 
you  for  it"  (here  the  conjuror  bowed  to  the  ground); 
"  and,  as  I  am  anxious  to  prove  that  you  have  not  to  deal 
with  an  ungrateful  person,  I  will  attempt  to  repay  in  full 
the  satisfaction  you  have  made  me  feel.  Deign  to  listen 
to  me  for  a  moment. 

"  I  promised  to  tell  you  what  I  am ;  I  will  now  satisfy 
you."  (Sudden  change  of  countenance,  and  evidence  of 
great  self-esteem.)  "You  behold  in  me  the  celebrated 
Dr.  Carlosbach :  the  composition  of  my  name  reveals  to 
you  my  Anglo-Francisco-Germanic  origin.  To  praise 
myself  would  be  like  painting  the  lily ;  I  will,  therefore, 


30  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

content  myself  with  saying  that  I  possess  an  enormous 
talent,  and  that  my  astounding  reputation  can  only  be 
equalled  by  my  modesty.  Elected,  by  acclamation,  mem- 
ber of  the  most  illustrious  learned  societies  through  the 
whole  world,  I  incline  before  their  judgment,  which  pro- 
claims the  superiority  of  my  skill  in  the  grand  art  of 
curing  the  human  race." 

This  address,  as  strange  as  it  was  emphatic,  was  de- 
livered with  imperturbable  assurance;  still  I  fancied  I 
noticed  a  twitching  of  the  lips,  that  revealed  the  grand 
doctor's  ill-restrained  desire  to  laugh.  For  all  that,  I  lis- 
tened attentively  to  his  discourse. 

"But,  gentlemen,"  he  added,  "I  have  said  sufficient 
of  myself ;  it  is  time  to  speak  of  my  works.  Learn  then, 
that  I  am  the  inventor  of  the  Vermifuge  Balsam,  whose 
sovereign  efficaciousness  is  indisputable.  Yes,  gentlemen, 
the  worm,  that  enemy  of  the  human  race  —  the  worm,  the 
destroyer  of  everything  existing — the  worm,  that  obsti- 
nate preyer  on  the  living  and  the  dead,  is  at  length  con- 
quered by  my  science ;  a  drop,  an  atom  of  this  precious 
liquor  is  sufficient  to  expel  this  fearful  parasite  for  ever. 

"  And,  gentlemen,  such  is  the  virtue  of  my  marvellous 
balsam,  that  it  not  only  delivers  man  from  this  frightful 
calamity  during  life,  but  his  body  has  nothing  to  fear  after 
death.  Taking  my  balsam  is  a  mode  of  embalming  one's 
body  prior  to  death;  man  is  thus  rendered  immortal. 
Ah!  gentlemen,  were  you  but  acquainted  with  all  the 
virtues  of  my  sublime  discovery,  you  would  rush  upon  me 
and  tear  it  from  me ;  but,  as  that  would  be  illegal,  I  check 
myself  in  time." 

The  orator,  in  fact,  stopped,  and  dried  his  brow  with 
one  hand,  while  with  the  other  he  motioned  to  the  crowd 
that  he  had  not  yet  ended  his  discourse.  A  great  number 


BOUGHT  AND  SOLD.  31 

of  the  audience  were  already  striving  to  approach  the 
learned  doctor;  Carlosbach,  however,  did  not  appear  to 
notice  it,  and,  reassuming  his  dramatic  posture,  he  con- 
tinued as  follows  : 

"  But,  you  will  ask  me,  what  can  be  the  price  of  such 
a  treasure  ?  can  we  be  rich  enough  to  purchase  it  ?  The 
moment  has  now  arrived,  gentlemen,  to  make  you  under- 
stand the  full  extent  of  my  disinterestedness.  This  bal- 
sam, in  the  discovery  of  which  I  have  worn  away  my 
days  —  this  balsam,  which  sovereigns  have  purchased  at 
the  price  of  their  crown  —  this  balsam,  in  short,  which  is 
beyond  all  price  —  well,  I  make  you  a  present  of  it !" 

At  these  unexpected  words,  the  crowd,  panting  with 
emotion,  lifted  up  its  eager  arms,  and  implored  the  gene- 
rosity of  the  doctor.  But,  what  shameful  deception ! 
Carlosbach  —  the  celebrated  Dr.  Carlosbach  —  this  bene- 
factor of  humanity,  suddenly  altered  his  tone,  and  burst 
into  an  Homeric  shout  of  laughter.  The  arms  fell  down 
spontaneously ;  the  audience  looked  vacantly  into  each 
other's  faces.  At  length  one  laughed.  The  contagion 
spread,  and  soon  everybody  was  following  the  conjurer's 
example.  He  was  the  first  to  stop,  and  demanded  silence : 

"  Gentlemen !"  he  then  said,  in  a  perfectly  respectful 
tone,  "  do  not  be  angry  with  me  for  the  little  trick  I  have 
played  you;  I  wished  thus  to  put  you  on  your  guard 
against  those  charlatans  who  daily  deceive  you,  just  as  I 
have  done  myself.  I  am  no  doctor,  but  simply  a  conjurer, 
professor  of  mystification,  and  author  of  a  book,  in  which 
you  will  find,  in  addition  to  the  discourse  I  have  just  de- 
livered, the  description  of  a  great  number  of  conjuring 
tricks.  Would  you  like  to  learn  the  art  of  amusing  your- 
self in  society  ?  For  sixpence  you  may  satisfy  your 
curiosity." 


32  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

The  conjurer  produced  from  a  box  an  enormous  packet 
of  books ;  then,  going  round  the  crowd,  he  soon  disposed 
of  his  wares,  thanks  to  the  interest  his  talent  had  excited. 
The  exhibition  was  over,  and  I  returned  home  with  my 
head  full  of  a  world  of  unknown  sensations. 

It  will  be  readily  supposed  that  I  purchased  one  of  these 
precious  volumes.  I  hastened  to  examine  it ;  but  the  false 
doctor  continued  his  system  of  mystification  in  it,  and 
despite  all  my  good  will,  I  could  not  understand  one  of  the 
tricks  he  pretended  to  explain.  However,  I  had  the  fa- 
mous speech  I  have  just  quoted,  as  some  sort  of  consolation. 

I  made  up  my  mind  to  lay  the  book  aside  and  think  no 
more  of  it ;  but  the  marvels  it  announced  returned  to  my 
mind  every  moment.  "  0  Carlosbach !"  I  said  in  my 
modest  ambition,  "  if  I  possessed  your  talent,  how  happy 
I  should  feel !"  and,  filled  with  this  idea,  I  decided  on 
taking  lessons  of  the  learned  professor.  Unfortunately, 
this  determination  was  arrived  at  too  late.  When  I  pro- 
ceeded to  his  lodgings,  I  learned  that  the  conjuror  had 
resorted  to  his  own  tricks,  and  had  left  his  inn  the  previous 
evening,  forgetting  to  pay  the  princely  score  he  had  run 
up.  The  innkeeper  gave  me  the  account  of  this  last 
mystification  on  the  part  of  the  professor. 

Carlosbach  had  arrived  at  his  house  with  two  trunks  of 
unequal  size  and  very  heavy ;  on  the  larger  of  them  was 
painted  "  Conjuring  Apparatus,"  on  the  other,  "  Cloth- 
ing." The  conjuror,  who  stated  that  he  had  received 
various  invitations  to  perform  at  the  adjacent  chateaux, 
had  set  off  the  evening  before  to  fulfil  one  of  these  engage- 
ments. He  had  only  taken  with  him  one  of  his  trunks, 
that  containing  the  apparatus ;  and  it  was  supposed  he 
had  left  the  other  in  his  room  as  a  security  for  the  bill  he 
had  run  up.  The  next  day  the  host,  surprised  at  finding  his 


THE  STIRRUP  TRICK.  33 

lodger  still  absent,  thought  it  advisable  to  place  his  traps 
in  some  safe  place.  He,  therefore,  went  into  his  bedroom ; 
but  the  two  trunks  had  disappeared,  and  in  their  place  was 
an  enormous  bag  filled  with  sand,  on  which  was  written  : 

THE   MYSTIFYING  BAG. 
THE   STIRRUP  TRICK. 

^continued  for  some  time  longer  to  enjoy  the  contem- 
plative life  I  had  been  pursuing ;  but  at  last  satiety  assailed 
me,  and  I  was  quite  surprised  one  day  at  finding  myself 
wearied  of  this  life  of  idleness.  My  father,  like  a  man 
who  could  read  the  human  heart,  had  awaited  this  moment 
to  talk  seriously  with  me ;  he,  therefore,  took  me  aside 
one  morning,  and  said,  without  further  preface,  in  a  kindly 
voice : 

"  My  good  boy,  you  have  now  quitted  college  with  a 
sound  education,  and  I  have  allowed  you  to  enjoy  fully 
the  liberty  for  which  you  seemed  to  aspire.  But  you  must 
see  this  is  not  sufficient  for  a  livelihood ;  you  must  now 
enter  on  the  world  resolutely,  and  apply  your  parts  to  the 
profession  you  wish  to  embrace.  That  profession  it  is  now 
time  to  choose ;  you  have  doubtlessly  some  inclination, 
some  bias,  and  you  must  let  me  know  it ;  speak,  then,  and 
you  will  find  me  inclined  to  second  your  views." 

Although  my  father  had  frequently  expressed  his  fears 
lest  I  should  follow  his  trade,  I  thought,  after  these  re- 
marks, he  had  changed  his  mind,  and  I  joyfully  said : 

"  Of  course  I  have  an  inclination,  and  you  cannot  be 
ignorant  of  it,  for  it  is  of  very  old  standing.  You  know  I 
never  wished  to  be  other  than — " 

My  father  guessed  my  thoughts,  and  would  not  allow 
me  to  finish. 


34  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

"I  see,"  he  objected,  "that  you  did  not  understand 
me,  and  I  must  explain  my  meaning  more  clearly.  My 
desire  is  for  you  to  choose  a  profession  more  lucrative 
than  my  own.  Consider,  it  would  be  unreasonable  to 
bury  the  ten  years'  schooling  for  which  I  made  such 
heavy  sacrifices  in  my  shop ;  remember,  too,  that,  after 
thirty-five  years'  hard  work,  I  have  been  hardly  able  to 
save  sufficient  provision  for  my  old  age.  Then,  pray, 
change  your  resolution,  and  give  up  your  mania  for  mak- 
ing a  *  parcel  of  filings.'  " 

My  father,  in  this,  merely  followed  the  idea  of  many 
parents,  who  can  only  see  the  disagreeable  side  of  their 
own  trade.  To  this  prejudice,  I  must  allow,  he  added  the 
praiseworthy  ambition  of  the  head  of  a  family  desirous 
that  his  son  should  rise  a  step  higher  on  the  social  ladder 
than  himself. 

As  I  was  utterly  ignorant  of  all  other  professions  or 
trades  save  that  of  a  mechanician,  I  was  unable  to  appre- 
ciate them,  or  consequently  select  one  ;  hence  I  remained 
dumb.  In  vain  did  my  father  try  to  draw  an  answer  from 
me  by  explaining  the  advantages  I  should  derive  from 
being  a  surgeon  or  chemist,  a  barrister  or  a  solicitor. 
I  could  only  repeat  that  I  placed  implicit  confidence  in  his 
wisdom  and  experience.  This  self-denial  and  passive  obe- 
dience appeared  to  touch  him ;  I  noticed  it,  and  wishing 
to  make  a  final  attack  on  his  determination,  I  said  to  him : 

"  Before  making  up  my  mind  to  any  decided  choice  of 
profession,  allow  me  to  offer  one  observation.  Are  you 
sure  that  it  is  your  trade  which  is  impossible  of  extension, 
or  is  it  owing  to  the  smallness  of  the  town  in  which  you 
have  carried  it  on  ?  Let  me  follow  my  own  bent,  I  be- 
seech you,  and  when  I  have  become  a  good  workman  by 
your  instruction,  I  will  go  to  Paris  and  make  a  fortune 
there;  I  feel  quite  convinced  I  can  do  so." 


CHOOSING  A  PROEESSION.  35 

Fearing  lest  he  might  give  way,  my  father  tried  to  cut 
the  conversation  short  by  evading  a  reply  to  my  objection. 

"  As  you  leave  it  to  me,"  he  said,  "  I  advise  you  to  be- 
come a  solicitor ;  with  your  natural  parts,  aided  by  appli- 
cation and  good  conduct,  I  am  certain  you  will  make  your 
way  famously." 

Two  days  later  I  was  installed  in  one  of  the  best  offices 
at  Blois,  and,  owing  to  my  caligraphy,  I  was  employed  as 
a  copying  clerk,  and  in  engrossing  from  morning  till  night, 
though  rarely  understanding  what  I  was  writing.  My 
readers  can  readily  guess  that  this  mechanical  work  could 
not  long  satisfy  the  turn  of  my  mind ;  pens,  ink,  and 
paper  were  most  unsuitable  articles  to  carry  out  the  in- 
ventive ideas  which  continually  occurred  to  me.  Fortu- 
nately, at  that  period,  steel  pens  were  unknown  ;  hence  I 
had  a  resource  in  making  my  pens,  to  which  I  devoted  the 
best  part  of  my  time.  This  simple  fact  will  suffice  to  give 
an  idea  of  the  deep  spleen  which  weighed  upon  me  like  a 
coating  of  lead,  and  I  should  have  certainly  fallen  ill,  had 
I  not  found  more  attractive  employment. 

Among  the  mechanical  curiosities  entrusted  to  my  father 
for  repair,  I  had  noticed  a  snuff-box,  on  the  top  of  which 
a  small  piece  of  mechanism  attracted  my  entire  attention. 
The  top  of  the  box  represented  a  landscape.  On  pressing 
a  spring,  a  hare  made  its  appearance,  and  went  towards  a 
tuft  of  grass,  which  it  began  to  crop ;  soon  after  a  sports- 
man emerged  from  a  thicket  accompanied  by  a  pointer. 
The  miniature  Nimrod  stopped  at  the  sight  of  the  game, 
shouldered  his  gun  and  fired;  a  noise  indicative  of  the 
explosion  of  a  fire-arm  was  heard,  and  the  hare,  apparently 
wounded,  disappeared  in  the  thicket,  pursued  by  the  dog. 

This  pretty  piece  of  mechanism  excited  my  desires  in 
an  eminent  degree,  but  I  could  not  hope  to  possess  it,  as 


36  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

the  owner,  in  addition  to  the  value  he  attached  to  it,  had 
no  reason  to  dispose  of  it,  and,  besides,  my  pecuniary 
means  were  insufficient.  As  I  could  not  make  the  article 
my  own,  I  determined,  at  least,  to  keep  it  in  remem- 
brance, and  drew  a  careful  plan  of  it  without  my  father's 
knowledge.  This  only  more  inflamed  my  desires,  and  I 
began  to  ask  myself  whether  I  could  not  make  an  exact 
copy  of  it. 

Seeing  no  extreme  difficulty  in  this,  I  rose  at  daybreak 
each  morning,  and,  going  down  to  my  father's  workshop, 
I  worked  till  the  hour  when  he  used  to  begin  work.  Then 
I  rearranged  the  tools  exactly  as  I  had  found  them,  locked 
up  my  work  carefully,  and  proceeded  to  my  office.  The 
joy  I  experienced  in  finding  my  mechanism  act  was  only 
equalled  by  the  pleasure  I  felt  in  presenting  it  to  my 
father,  as  an  indirect  and  respectful  protest  against  the 
determination  he  had  formed  as  to  my  choice  of  a  trade. 
I  had  some  difficulty  in  persuading  him  that  I  had  not 
been  assisted  by  any  one  in  my  work,  but  when  at  last  I 
removed  his  doubts,  he  could  not  refrain  from  compliment- 
ing me. 

"  It  is  a  pity,"  he  said,  thoughtfully,  "  that  you  cannot 
profit  by  your  turn  for  mechanism ;  but,"  he  added,  sud- 
denly, as  if  seeking  to  dispel  an  idea  that  troubled  him, 
"you  had  better  take  no  pride  in  your  skill,  for  it  may  in- 
jure your  prospects." 

For  more  than  a  year  I  performed  the  duties  of  amateur 
—  that  is,  unpaid  clerk  —  and  I  was  then  offered  a  situa- 
tion by  a  country  solicitor  as  second  clerk,  with  a  small 
salary.  I  accepted  this  unexpected  promotion  very  readily ; 
but,  once  installed  in  my  new  duties,  I  found  that  my  em- 
ployer had  deceived  me  as  to  their  range.  The  situation 
I  occupied  was  that  of  office-boy,  having  to  run  on  errands, 


A  NOVEL  ALARUM.  87 

for  the  first  and  only  clerk  could  more  than  attend  to  the 
business.  I  certainly  earned  some  money  :  it  was  the  first 
I  had  gained  by  my  own  labor,  and  this  consideration 
gilded  the  pill,  which  was  rather  bitter  to  my  pride.  Be- 
sides, M.  Roger  (such  was  my  new  master's  name)  was 
certainly  the .  best  fellow  in  the  world.  His  manner,  full 
of  kindness  and  sympathy,  had  attracted  me  the  first  time 
I  saw  him,  and  I  may  add  that  his  behavior  towards  me 
was  most  agreeable  during  the  time  I  remained  in  his 
office. 

This  gentleman,  the  personification  of  probity,  possessed 
the  confidence  of  the  Due  d'Avaray,  whose  estate  he  man- 
aged, and  being  full  of  zeal  for  his  noble  client's  business, 
he  devoted  more  attention  to  it  than  to  his  office.  At 
Avaray  legal  business  was  very  scarce,  and  we  had  hardly 
enough  to  fill  up  our  time.  For  my  own  part,  I  had  many 
leisure  hours,  which  my  kind  master  enabled  me  to  employ 
by  placing  his  library  at  my  service.  I  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  find  in  it  Linnseus's  Treaty  on  Botany,  and  I 
learned  the  rudiments  of  that  science. 

The  study  of  botany  required  time,  and  I  could  only 
devote  to  it  the  hours  prior  to  the  office  opening.  Unfor- 
tunately, I  had  become  a  tremendous  sleeper — I  hardly 
know  how  —  and  I  could  not  manage  to  get  up  before 
eight  o'clock.  I  resolved  to  conquer  this  obstinate  somno- 
lency, and  I  invented  a  waking  apparatus, "which,  from  its 
originality,  deserves  honorable  mention  here. 

The  room  I  occupied  formed  a  portion  of  the  Chateau 
d'Avaray,  and  was  situated  over  an  archway,  closed  by  a 
heavy  gate.  Having  noticed  that  the  porter  opened  this 
gate,  which  led  into  the  gardens,  every  morning,  the  idea 
occurred  to  me  of  profiting  by  this  circumstance  to  insti- 
tute an  energetic  alarum.  This  is  how  I  managed  it. 


38  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

When  I  went  to  bed,  I  fastened  to  one  of  my  legs  the  end 
of  a  cord,  which,  passing  through  niy  half-opened  window, 
was  attached  to  the  upper  part  of  the  iron  gate.  When 
the  porter  pushed  the  gate  open,  he  dragged  me,  when 
least  expecting  it,  to  the  middle  of  my  bedroom.  Thus 
violently  roused  from  sleep,  I  tried  to  hold  on  by  the  bed- 
clothes ;  but  the  more  I  resisted,  the  more  did  the  pitiless 
porter  push  on  his  side,  and  I  at  length  woke  up  to  hear 
him  always  abusing  the  hinges,  which  he  determined  to  oil 
before  the  day  was  out.  Then,  I  unloosed  my  leg,  and, 
with  my  Linnaeus  in  my  hand,  I  went  to  interrogate  Na- 
ture on  her  admirable  secrets,  the  study  of  which  caused 
me  to  spend  many  pleasant  hours. 

As  much  to  please  my  father  as  to  scrupulously  fulfil 
my  duties  in  my  new  office,  I  had  promised  to  pay  no  more 
attention  to  mechanical  inventions  —  for  I  feared  their 
irresistible  attraction  —  and  I  had  religiously  kept  my 
word.  There  was,  then,  every  reason  to  believe  that  I 
should  pass  through  all  my  grades  creditably,  and  some 
day,  in  my  turn,  become  Maitre  Robert,  solicitor,  in  some 
country  town.  But  Providence,  in  her  decrees,  had  traced 
out  a  very  diiferent  route  for  me,  and  my  stern  resolutions 
were  routed  by  a  temptation  too  powerful  for  my  courage. 
In  our  office  there  was,  strangely  enough,  a  magnificent 
aviary  filled  with  canaries,  whose  song  and  plumage  were 
intended  to  difpel  the  impatience  of  a  client  forced  by 
some  accident  to  wait.  This  cage  being  considered  a  por- 
tion of  the  office  furniture,  I  was  bound,  as  errand-boy,  to 
keep  it  in  a  proper  state  of  cleanliness,  and  provide  the 
food  of  the  denizens.  This  was  the  branch  of  my  duties 
I  performed  with  the  greatest  zeal :  in  fact,  I  bestowed  so 
much  care  on  the  comfort  and  amusement  of  the  birds, 
that  they  soon  absorbed  nearly  all  my  time. 


A  WONDERFUL  AVIARY.  39 

I  began  by  setting  up  in  this  cage  a  number  of  mechan- 
ical tricks  I  had  invented  at  college  under  similar  circum- 
stances. I  gradually  added  fresh  ones,  and  ended  by 
making  the  cage  a  work  of  art  and  curiosity,  affording 
considerable  attraction  to  our  visitors.  At  one  spot  was 
a  perch,  near  which  the  sugar  and  the  seed-glass  displayed 
their  attractions ;  but  no  sooner  had  the  innocent  canary 
placed  its  foot  on  the  fatal  perch,  than  a  circular  cage  en- 
compassed it,  and  it  was  kept  a  prisoner  until  another  bird, 
perching  on  an  adjoining  piece  of  wood,  set  loose  a  spring, 
which  delivered  the  captive.  At  another  place  were  baths 
and  pumps;  further  on  was  a  small  trough,  so  arranged, 
that  the  nearer  the  bird  seemed  to  draw  to  it  the  further 
off  it  really  was.  Lastly,  each  denizen  of  the  cage  was 
obliged  to  earn  its  food  by  drawing  forward  with  its  beak 
small  pasteboards  carts. 

The  pleasure  I  felt  in  carrying  out  these  small  schemes 
soon  made  me  forget  I  was  in  a  lawyer's  office  for  any 
other  purpos*  than  to  be  at  the  beck  and  call  of  canaries. 
The  chief  clerk  drew  my  attention  to  it,  and  added  some 
just  remonstrances ;  but  I  had  always  a  protest  ready,  and 
continued  making  daily  improvements  in  the  aviary.  At 
length,  matters  reached  such  a  point,  that  the  supreme 
authority,  that  is  to  say  my  master  in  person,  felt  it  his 
duty  to  interfere. 

"  Robert,"  he  said  to  me,  assuming  an  earnest  tone, 
which  he  rarely  employed  towards  his  clerks,  "  when  you 
came  into  my  office  you  were  aware  it  was  to  devote  your- 
self exclusively  to  business,  and  not  to  satisfy  your  own 
thirst  for  pleasure;  warnings  have  been  given  you  to  re- 
turn your  duty,  and  you  have  paid  no  attention  to  them ; 
I  am,  therefore,  obliged  to  tell  you  that  you  must  either 
decide  on  giving  up  your  mechanical  fancies,  or  I  must 
send  you  home  to  your  father." 


40  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-IIOUDIN. 

And  the  worthy  Monsieur  Roger  stopped,  as  if  to  draw 
breath  after  the  reproaches  he  had  given  me,  I  am  sure 
much  against  his  will.  After  a  moment's  silence,  he  re- 
assumed  his  paternal  tone,  and  said  to  me  : 

"And  now,  my  friend,  will  you  let  me  give  you  a  piece 
of  advice  ?  I  have  studied  you,  and  feel  convinced  you 
will  never  be  more  than  a  very  ordinary  clerk,  and,  con- 
sequently, a  still  more  ordinary  notary,  while  you  might 
become  an  excellent  mechanician.  It  would  be,  then,  wiser 
for  you  to  give  up  a  profession  in  which-  you  have  such 
slight  prospect  of  success,  and  follow  that  for  which  you 
evince  such  remarkable  aptitude." 

The  kindly  tone  M.  Roger  assumed  induced  me  to  open 
my  heart  to  him.  I  told  him  of  my  father's  determination 
to  keep  me  from  his  own  trade,  and  described  to  him  all 
the  vexation  I  had  felt  from  it. 

"Your  father  fancied  he  was  acting  for  the  best,"  he 
replied  to  me,  "  by  putting  you  in  a  profession  more  lu- 
crative than  his  own ;  he  thought  he  shoul^.  only  have  a 
simple  boyish  fancy  to  overcome,  but  I  am  persuaded  it  is 
an  irresistible  vocation,  against  which  you  should  no  longer 
struggle.  I  will  see  your  parents  to-morrow,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  I  shall  induce  them  to  change  their  opinion 
about  your  future  prospects  in  life." 

Since  I  quitted  my  father's  house  he  had  sold  his  busi- 
ness, and  had  retired  to  a  small  property  he  had  near 
Blois.  My  master  went  to  see  him  as  he  had  promised 
me ;  a  long  conversation  ensued,  and  after  numerous  ob- 
jections on  both  sides,  the  lawyer's  eloquence  vanquished 
my  father's  scruples,  and  he  at  length  yielded. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "as  he  absolutely  desires  it,  let  him 
follow  my  trade.  And,  as  I  cannot  instruct  him  myself, 
my  nephew,  who  is  a  pupil  of  mine,  will  act  towards  my 
son  as  I  did  towards  him." 


BRIGHTER  PROSPECTS.  41 

This  news  overwhelmed  me  with  joy  :  it  seemed  as  if  I 
were  entering  on  a  new  life,  and  the  fortnight  I  had  yet 
to  spend  at  Avaray  seemed  to  me  terribly  long.  At 
length  I  set  out  for  Blois,  and  the  day  after  my  arrival 
found  me  seated  before  a  vice,  file  in  hand,  and  receiving 
my  first  lessons  in  watchmaking  from  my  relative. 


42  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 


CHAPTER  III. 

My  Cousin  Robert — The  most  important  Event  in  my  Life — How  a 
Man  becomes  a  Sorcerer — My  firsf  Sleight-of-Hand  Feat — An  utter 
Failure — Practising  the  Eye  and  the  Hand — Curious  Experiment  in 
Prestidigitation  —  Monsieur  Noriet — An  Action  more  ingenious  than 
delicate — I  am  Poisoned — Influence  of  Delirium. 

BEFORE  speaking  of  my  labors  in  the  watchmaker's 
shop,  I  must  introduce  my  readers  to  my  new  master. 
And,  in  the  first  place,  to  set  myself  right,  I  will  say  that 
my  cousin  Robert,  as  I  used  to  call  him,  has  been  since 
my  first  connexion  with  him,  one  of  my  best  and  dearest 
friends.  It  would  be  difficult,  in  fact,  to  imagine  a  more 
happy  character,  a  heart  more  affectionate  and  devoted. 

With  a  rare  intelligence,  my  cousin  combined  other 
equally  valuable  qualities.  He  possessed  a  graceful  ad- 
dress, which,  without  flattery,  I  may  say  is  peculiar  to  our 
family,  and  he  was  justly  considered  the  first  watchmaker 
in  Blois,  a  town  which  has  long  excelled  in  the  horologic 
art. 

My  cousin  began  by  teaching  me  how  to  "make  Idlings," 
as  my  father  called  it,  but  I  required  no  apprenticeship  to 
learn  the  use  of  tools,  and  hence  the  outset  was  not  so 
painful  as  it  is  usually  to  novice4.  From  the  beginning 
of  my  apprenticeship  I  was  enabled  to  undertake  small 
jobs,  which  gained  me  my  master's  praise.  Yet  I  would 
not  have  it  supposed  I  was  a  model  pupil,  for  I  had  still 


MY  NOSE  ON  THE  GRINDSTONE.  43 

rife  in  me  that  spirit  of  investigation  which  drew  down 
upon  me  several  reprimands  from  my  cousin,  and  I  could 
not  endure  to  confine  my  imagination  to  the  ideas  of  an- 
other person.  I  was  continually  inventing  or  improving. 

My  whole  life  through,  this  passion  —  or,  if  you  will, 
mania  —  has  held  sway  over  me.  I  never  could  fix  my 
thoughts  on  any  task  without  trying  to  introduce  some 
improvement,  or  strike  out  a  novel  idea.  But  this  tem- 
perament—  eventually  so  favorable  —  was  at  this  period 
very  prejudicial  to  my  progress.  Before  following  my  own 
inspirations  and  yielding  to  my  fancies,  I  ought  to  have 
learned  the  secrets  of  my  art,  and,  in  fact,  dispelled  all 
ideas  which  were  only  adapted  to  make  me  diverge  from 
the  true  principles  of  clockmaking. 

Such  was  the  sense  of  the  paternal  observations  made 
now  and  then  by  my  cousin,  and  I  was  obliged  to  recog- 
nize their  justice.  Then  I  would  go  to  work  again  with 
redoubled  zeal,  though  groaning  inwardly  at .  the  bonds 
that  fettered  my  genius.  In  order  to  aid  my  progress  and 
afford  me  relaxation,  my  master  recommended  me  to  study 
some  treatises  on  mechanics  in  general,  and  on  clockmak- 
ing in  particular.  As  this  suited  my  taste  exactly,  I 
gladly  assented,  and  I  was  devoting  myself  passionately 
to  this  attractive  study,  when  a  circumstance,  apparently 
most  simple,  suddenly  decided  my  future  life,  by  reveal- 
ing to  me  a  vocation  whose  mysterious  resources  must 
open  a  vast  field  for  my  inventive  and  fanciful  ideas. 

One  evening  I  went  into  a  bookseller's  shop  to  buy  Ber- 
thoud's  "Treatise  on  Clockmaking,"  which  I  knew  he  had. 
The  tradesman  being  engaged  at  the  moment  on  matters 
more  important,  took  down  two  volumes  from  the  shelves 
and  handed  them  to  me  without  ceremony.  On  returning 
home,  I  sat  down  to  peruse  my  treatise  conscientiously, 


44  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

but  judge  of  my  surprise  when  I  read  on  the  back  of  one 
the  volumes  "  SCIENTIFIC  AMUSEMENTS."  Astonished  at 
finding  such  a  title  on  a  professional  work,  I  opened  it 
impatiently,  and,  on  running  through  the  table  of  con- 
tents, my  surprise  was  doubled  on  reading  these  strange 
phrases : 

The  way  of  performing  tricks  with  the  cards  —  How  to 
guess  a  person  s  thoughts —  To  cut  off  a  pigeon  s  head,  to 
restore  it  to  life,  ^c.,  £c. 

The  bookseller  had  made  a  mistake.  In  his  haste,  he 
had  given  me  two  volumes  of  the  Encyclopaedia  instead  of 
Berthoud.  Fascinated,  however,  by  the  announcement  of 
such  marvels,  I  devoured  the  mysterious  pages,  and  the 
further  my  reading  advanced,  the  more  I  saw  laid  bare  be- 
fore me  the  secrets  of  an  art  for  which  I  was  unconsciously 
predestined. 

I  fear  I  shall  be  accused  of  exaggeration,  or  at  least 
not  be  understood  by  many  of  my  readers,  when  I  say 
that  this  discovery  caused  me  the  greatest  joy  I  had  ever 
experienced.  At  this  moment  a  secret  presentiment 
warned  me  that  success,  perhaps  glory,  would  one  day  ac- 
crue to  me  in  the  apparent  realization  of  the  marvellous 
and  impossible,  and  fortunately  these  presentiments  did 
not  err. 

The  resemblance  between  two  books,  and  the  hurry  of  a 
bookseller,  were  the  common-place  causes  of  the  most  im- 
portant event  in  my  life. 

It  may  be  urged  that  different  circumstances  might  have 
suggested  this  profession  to  me  at  a  later  date.  It  is  pro- 
bable ;  but  then  I  should  have  had  no  time  for  it.  Would 
any  workman,  artisan,  or  tradesman  give  up  a  certainty, 
however  slight  it  may  be,  to  yield  to  a  passion  which 
would  be  surely  regarded  as  a  mania  ?  Hence  my  irresis- 


THE  MOST  IMPORTANT  EVENT  OF  MY  LIFE.  45 

tible  penchant  for  the  mysterious  could  only  be  followed 
at  this  precise  period  of  my  life. 

How  often  since  have  I  blessed  this  providential  error, 
without  which  I  should  have  probably  vegetated  as  a 
country  watchmaker  !  My  life  would  have  been  spent  in 
gentle  monotony ;  I  should  have  been  spared  many  suffer- 
ings, emotions,  and  shocks ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  what 
lively  sensations,  what  profound  delight  would  have  been 
sacrificed ! 

I  was  eagerly  devouring  every  line  of  the  magic  book 
which  described  the  astounding  tricks ;  my  head  was 
a-glow,  and  I  at  times  gave  way  to  thoughts  which  plunged 
me  in  ecstasy.  Still  the  hours  slipped  away,  and  while 
my  mind  was  indulging  in  fanciful  dreams,  I  did  not 
notice  that  my  candle  had  burned  down  in  the  socket. 
How  can  I  describe  my  disappointment  when  it  suddenly 
went  out  ?  It  was  the  last  candle  I  possessed ;  hence  I 
was  forced  to  quit  the  sublime  realms  of  magic  all  for 
want  of  a  halfpenny  taper.  At  this  instant  I  would  have 
given  my  whole  fortune,  were  it  only  for  a  street  lamp. 

I  was  not  exactly  in  the  dark :  a  dim  ray  entered  my 
window  from  a  neighboring  lamp :  but,  though  I  made 
every  effort  to  read  by  it,  I  could  not  decipher  a  single 
word,  was  obliged  to  retire  to  bed  willy-nilly. 

In  vain  I  tried  to  sleep :  the  febrile  excitement  pro- 
duced by  the  book  prevented  either  sleep  or  rest.  I  went 
continually  over  the  passages  which  had  most  struck  me, 
and  the  interest  they  inspired  only  the  more  excited  me. 
Finding  it  impossible  to  remain  in  bed,  I  repeatedly  re- 
turned to  the  window,  and  while  casting  envious  glances  on 
the  lamp,  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  go  down  into  the  street 
and  read  by  its  light,  when  another  idea  occurred  to  me. 
In  my  impatience  to  realize  it  I  did  not  wait  to  dress,  but, 


46  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

confining  my  attire  to  what  was  strictly  necessary,  if  I 
may  so  call  a  pair  of  slippers  and  my  drawers,  I  took  my 
hat  in  one  hand,  a  pair  of  pincers  in  the  other,  and  went 
down  into  the  street. 

Once  there,  I  proceeded  straight  to  the  lamp ;  for  I 
must  confess,  that  in  my  anxiety  to  profit  at  once  by  the 
sleight-of-hand  tricks  I  had  been  studying,  I  intended  to 
conjure  away  the  oil-lamp  provided  by  the  authorities  for 
the  safety  of  the  town.  The  part  the  hat  and  pincers 
were  to  play  in  the  operation  were  simple  enough :  the 
latter  would  wrench  open  the  little  box  containing  the  end 
of  the  cord  by  which  the  lamp  was  raised,  and  the  former 
would  act  as  a  dark  lantern,  and  hide  the  rays  of  light 
which  might  betray  my  theft.* 

All  prospered  famously ;  and  I  was  about  to  retire  in 
triumph,  when  a  miserable  incident  threatened  to  rob  me 
of  the  profits  of  my  trick.  At  the  moment  of  my  success 
a  baker's  man  overthrew  my  plans  by  emerging  from  the 
door  of  his  shop.  I  concealed  myself  in  a  doorway,  and, 
while  striving  to  hide  the  light,  I  waited  perfectly  motion- 
less till  the  unlucky  baker  retired.  But  judge  of  my 
grief  and  terror  when  I  saw  him  lean  against  the  door 
and  calmly  smoke  his  pipe  ! 

My  position  was  growing  intolerable ;  the  cold  and  the 
fear  of  detection  made  my  teeth  chatter,  and  to  increase 
my  despair,  I  soon  felt  the  lining  of  my  hat  catch  fire. 
There  was  no  time  for  hesitation :  I  crushed  my  failure  of 
a  lantern  in  my  hands,  and  thus  put  out  the  fire  ;  but  it  was 
a  dreadful  sacrifice.  My  poor  hat,  the  one  I  wore  on 
Sundays,  was  smoked,  stained  with  oil,  and  shapeless. 
And  while  I  was  enduring  all  these  torments,  my  tyrant 

*  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  those  days  French  towns  were  lighted 
by  a  lamp  suspended  in  the  centre  of  the  highway  from  a  cord  attached 
to  two  poles. — [En. 


MY  FIRST  TRICK.  47 

continued  to  smoke  with  an  air  of  calmness  and  comfort 
which  drove  me  nearly  mad. 

It  was  quite  plain  I  could  not  stay  here  till  day-light ; 
but  how  to  escape  from  this  critical  situation  ?  To  ask  the 
baker  to  keep  my  secret  would  be  running  a  risk  ;  while, 
to  return  home  straight  would  betray  me,  for  I  must  pass 
in  front  of  him,  and  he  would  be  sure  to  recognise  me. 
The  only  chance  left  was  to  go  down  a  side  street  and 
make  a  detour  to  reach  the  house.  This  I  decided  on, 
even  at  the  risk  of  any  one  meeting  me  in  my  bathing  at- 
tire. Without  delay  I  took  hat  and  lamp  under  my  arm, 
for  I  was  forced  to  remove  the  proofs  of  my  crime,  and  I 
started  off  like  an  arrow.  In  my  trouble,  I  fancied  the 
baker  was  after  me.  I  even  thought  I  heard  his  foot- 
fall behind  me,  and  in  my  anxiety  to  escape  I  doubled 
my  speed ;  first  I  turned  to  the  right,  then  to  the  left,  and 
went  through  such  a  number  of  streets,  that  it  took  me  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  to  regain  my  room,  in  a  state  of  per- 
fect collapse,  yet  glad  to  have  escaped  so  cheaply. 

It  is  a  painful  confession  for  a  man  destined  eventually 
to  fill  a  certain  part  in  the  annals  of  conjuring  to  make, 
that  my  trial-piece  turned  out  so  lamentably.  In  fact,  to 
use  a  theatrical  phrase,  it  was  an  utter  fiasco. 

Still,  I  was  not  at  all  discouraged ;  the  next  day  I  re- 
gained all  my  equanimity  on  finding  my  precious  treatise 
on  "White  Magic"  before  me,  and  I  began  studying  the 
interesting  secrets  it  contained  with  great  ardor. 

Within  a  week  I  knew  them  all  by  heart. 

From  theory  I  resolved  to  proceed  to  practice ;  but,  just 
as  was  the  case  with  Carlosbach's  book,  I  suddenly  met 
with  an  obstacle.  The  author,  I  will  grant,  was  more  con- 
scientious than  the  Borcfclais  mystifier :  he  gave  a  very 
plain  explanation  of  his  tricks ;  still,  he  committed  the 
error  of  supposing  his  readers  possessed  of  the  necessary 


48  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

skill  to  perform  them.  Now,  I  was  entirely  deficient  in 
this  skill,  and  though  most  desirous  of  acquiring  it,  I  found 
nothing  in  the  book  to  indicate  the  means.  I  was  in  the 
position  of  a  man  who  attempts  to  copy  a  picture  without 
possessing  the  slightest  notion  of  drawing  and  painting. 

In  the  absence  of  a  professor  to  instruct  me,  I  was  com- 
pelled to  create  the  principles  of  the  science  I  wished  to 
study.  In  the  first  place,  I  recognised  the  fundamental 
principle  of  sleight-of-hand,  that  the  organs  performing 
the  principal  part  are  the  sight  and  touch.  I  saw  that,  in 
order  to  attain  any  degree  of  perfection,  the  professor 
must  develop  these  organs  to  their  fullest  extent  —  for,  in 
his  exhibitions,  he  must  be  able  to  see  everything  that 
takes  place  around  him  at  half  a  glance,  and  execute  his 
deceptions  with  unfailing  dexterity. 

I  had  been  often  struck  by  the  ease  with  which  pianists 
can  read  and  perform  at  sight  the  most  difficult  pieces.  I 
saw  that,  by  practice,  it  would  be  possible  to  create  a  cer- 
tainty of  perception  and  facility  of  touch,  rendering  it 
easy  for  the  artist  to  attend  to  several  things  simultane- 
ously, while  his  hands  were  busy  employed  with  some 
complicated  task.  This  faculty  I  wished  to  acquire  and 
apply  to  sleight-of-hand ;  still,  as  music  could  not  afford 
me  the  necessary  elements,  I  had  recourse  to  the  juggler's 
art,  in  which  I  hoped  to  meet  with  an  analogous  result. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  trick  with  the  balls  wonder- 
fully improves  the  touch,  but  does  it  not  improve  the  vision 
at  the  same  time  ?  In  fact,  when  a  juggler  throws  into 
the  air  four  balls  crossing  each  other  in  various  directions, 
he  requires  an  extraordinary  power  of  sight  to  follow  the 
direction  his  hands  have  given  to  each  of  the  balls.  At 
this  period  a  corn-cutter  resided*  at  Blois,  who  possessed 
the  double  talent  of  juggling  and  extracting  corns  with  a 


SLEIGHT-OF-HAND  PRACTICE.  49 

skill  worthy  of  the  lightness  of  his  hands.  Still,  with 
both  these  qualities,  he  was  not  rich,  and  being  aware  of 
that  fact,  I  hoped  to  obtain  lessons  from  him  at  a  price 
suited  to  my  modest  finances.  In  fact,  for  ten  francs  he 
agreed  to  initiate  me  in  the  juggling  art. 

I  practised  with  so  much  zeal,  and  progressed  so  rapidly, 
that  in  less  than  a  month  I  had  nothing  more  to  learn ;  at 
least,  I  knew  as  much  as  my  master,  with  the  exception 
of  corn-cutting,  the  monopoly  in  which  I  left  him.  I  was 
able  to  juggle  with  four  balls  at  once.  But  this  did  not 
satisfy  my  ambition ;  so  I  placed  a  book  before  me,  and, 
while  the  balls  were  in  the  air,  I  accustomed  myself  to 
read  without  any  hesitation. 

This  will  probably  seem  to  my  readers  very  extraordi- 
nary; but  I  shall  surprise  them  still  more,  when  I  say 
that  I  have  just  amused  myself  by  repeating  this  curious 
experiment.  Though  thirty  years  have  elapsed  since  the 
time  of  which  I  am  writing,  and  though  I  scarcely  once 
touched  the  balls  during  that  period,  I  can  still  manage 
to  read  with  ease  while  keeping  three  balls  up. 

The  practice  of  this  trick  gave  my  fingers  a  remarkable 
degree  of  delicacy  and  certainty,  while  my  eye  was  at  the 
same  time  acquiring  a  promptitude  of  perception  that  was 
quite  marvellous.  Presently  I  shall  have  to  speak  of  the 
service  this  rendered  me  in  my  experiment  of  second  sight. 
After  having  thus  made  my  hands  supple  and  docile,  I 
went  on  straight  to  sleight-of-hand,  and  I  more  especially 
devoted  myself  to  the  manipulation  of  cards  and  palmistry. 

This  operation  requires  a  great  deal  of  practice ;  for, 
while  the  hand  is  held  apparently  open,  balls,  corks,  lumps 
of  sugar,  coins,  &c.,  must  be  held  unseen,  the  fingers  re- 
maining perfectly  free  and  limber. 

Owing  to  the  little  time  at  my  disposal,  the  difficulties 

D 


50  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUD1N. 

connected  with  these  new  experiments  would  have  been 
insurmountable,  had  I  not  found  a  mode  of  practising 
without  neglecting  my  business.  It  was  the  fashion  in 
those  days  to  wear  coats  with  large  pockets  on  the  hips, 
called  a  la  propriStaire,  so  whenever  my  hands  were  not 
otherwise  engaged  they  slipped  naturally  into  my  pockets, 
and  set  to  work  with  cards,  coins,  or  one  of  the  objects  I 
have  mentioned.  It  will  be  easily  understood  how  much 
time  I  gained  by  this.  Thus,  for  instance,  when  out  on 
errands  my  hands  could  be  at  work  on  both  sides  ;  at  din- 
ner, I  often  ate  my  soup  with  one  hand  while  I  was  learn- 
ing to  sauter  la  coupe  with  the  other  —  in  short,  the  slight- 
est moment  of  relaxation  was  devoted  to  my  favorite 
pursuit.  As  no  one  suspected  that  my  paletot  was  in 
some  degree  a  study,  this  manner  of  keeping  my  hands  in 
my  pockets  began  to  be  regarded  as  a  bad  habit  I  had 
acquired;  but  after  a  few  jests  on  the  subject  I  was  left 
in  peace. 

Though  my  passion  for  sleight-of-hand  was  so  intense, 
I  had,  however,  sufficient  command  over  myself  not  to  dis- 
please my  master,  who  never  noticed  that  my  thoughts 
were  away  from  my  work,  and  constantly  praised  me  for 
my  regularity  and  application. 

At  length  my  apprenticeship  was  over,  and  my  cousin, 
one  fine  day,  stated  I  was  a  journeyman  and  able  to  earn 
wages.  I  heard  this  with  double  pleasure,  for  I  found  in 
it  not  only  greater  liberty,  but  also  a  chance  of  improving 
my  finances.  Nor  was  I  long  ere  I  profited  by  my  ad- 
vancement ;  a  situation  was  offered  me  by  a  watchmaker 
at  Tours,  and  I  proceeded  to  that  town  at  once. 

My  new  master  was  that  M.  Noriet,  who  afterwards 
gained  some  distinction  as  a  sculptor.  His  imagination, 
already  full  of  his  future  works,  disdained  the  ordinary 


CLIPPING  THE  COIN  OF  THE  REALM.  51 

labor  of  watch  repairing,  and  he  gladly  left  to  his  work- 
men what  he  called,  ironically,  the  "shoe-black"  part  of 
the  trade.  It  was  for  this  purpose  I  joined  him,  and  I 
received,  in  addition  to  board  and  lodging,  35  fr.  a  month. 
Little  enough,  I  grant ;  but  it  was  an  enormous  sum  in 
my  eyes,  for,  since  leaving  the  lawyer's,  at  Avaray,  my 
income  had  been  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

When  I  say  I  earned  35  fr.,  it  is  merely  to  mention  a 
round  sum ;  in  reality  I  never  received  it  net.  Madame 
Noriet,  in  her  quality  of  an  excellent  manager,  was  per- 
fectly conversant  with  all  matters  relative  to  discount  and 
exchanges ;  and  thus,  she  had  found  a  way  of  lessening 
my  wages  in  a  manner  as  ingenious  as  it  was  improper. 
She  used  to  pay  me  in  crowns  of  six  francs,  and  as  at  that 
time  six-franc  pieces  were  only  worth  5  fr.  80  c.,  the  lady 
gained  24  sous  every  month,  which  I  carried  to  my  "profit 
and  loss"  account. 

Although  my  time  was  fully  occupied  here,  I  managed 
to  continue  my  pocket  practice ;  and  I  daily  noticed  with 
joy  the  progress  I  was  making.  I  had  learned  how  to 
make  any  object  I  held  in  my  hand  disappear  with  the 
greatest  ease ;  and  as  for  the  practice  of  card  tricks,  they 
were  only  child's  play  to  me,  and  I  could  produce  some 
delightful  illusions. 

I  confess  to  feeling  a  degree  of  pride  in  my  humble 
power  of  amusing  my  friends,  and  I  neglected  no  occasion 
of  displaying  it.  On  Sunday,  for  instance,  after  the  in- 
variable game  of  loto,  which  was  played  in  this  patriarchal 
family,  I  gave  a  small  performance  of  sleight-of-hand, 
which  enlivened  the  melancholy  victims  of  this  most  mo- 
notonous of  all  games.  I  was  honored  with  the  name  of 
an  "agreeable  droll,"  and  this  compliment  delighted  me. 

My  regular  habits,  my  perseverance,  and  perhaps  a  cer- 


52  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

tain  degree  of  gaiety  I  possessed  at  the  time,  had  gained 
me  the  friendship  and  sympathy  of  both  my  master  and 
mistress.  At  last  I  became  an  indispensable  member  of 
the  family,  and  shared  in  all  their  amusements.  Among 
these  were  frequent  excursions  in  the  country.  On  one  of 
these,  on  the  25th  of  July,  1828,  (I  shall  never  forget  that 
memorable  date,  as  it  was  all  but  registered  on  my  tomb- 
stone,) we  went  to  a  fair  at  an  adjacent  village.  Before 
leaving  Tours,  we  had  promised  to  be  home  to  dinner  at 
five ;  but,  finding  ourselves  much  amused,  we  did  not  keep 
military  time,  nor  find  our  way  home  till  eight. 

After  enduring  the  scolding  of  the  cook,  whose  dinner 
had  got  cold,  we  sat  down  and  ate  like  people  whose  ap- 
petite has  been  whetted  by  a  long  walk  in  the  open  air, 
and  eight  or  ten  hours'  fasting. 

Whatever  Jeannette  might  say,  everything  she  sent  up 
was  found  excellent,  except  a  certain  ragout,  which  every- 
body declared  detestable,  and  hardly  touched.  I,  however, 
devoured  my  share  of  the  dish,  without  troubling  myself 
the  least  in  the  world  about  its  quality.  In  spite  of  the 
jests  aroused  by  my  avidity,  I  asked  for  a  second  relay, 
and  would  certainly  have  eaten  the  whole  dish,  had  not 
my  mistress,  with  due  regard  for  my  health,  prevented  it. 

This  precaution  saved  my  life.  In  fact,  dinner  was 
hardly  over  and  the  game  of  loto  begun,  when  I  felt  most 
uncomfortable.  I  went  to  my  room,  where  atrocious  pains 
seized  upon  me,  and  a  doctor  was  sent  for.  After  a  care- 
ful investigation,  the  doctor  discovered  that  a  powerful 
layer  of  verdigris  had  formed  in  the  stewpan  in  which  the 
ragout  had  been  cooked  and  said  I  was  poisoned. 

The  consequences  of  this  poisoning  were  most  terrible 
to  me :  for  some  time  my  life  was  despaired  of,  but  even- 
tually the  sufferings  seemed  to  be  modified  by  the  gentle 


I  AM  POISONED.  53 

care  bestowed  on  me,  and  I  was  granted  some  slight  relief. 
Strangely  enough,  it  was  not  till  this  second  phase  of  my 
illness,  when  the  doctor  declared  me  out  of  danger,  that  I 
was  haunted  by  a  certainty  of  speedy  death,  to  which  was 
joined  an  immoderate  desire  to  end  my  days  in  the  bosom 
of  my  family.  This  idea  —  a  species  of  monomania  —  in- 
cessantly assailed  me,  and  I  soon  had  no  other  thought 
than  that  of  escaping  to  Blois.  As  I  could  not  hope  to 
obtain  the  doctor's  permission  to  set  out,  when  his  most 
urgent  advice  was  to  take  care  of  myself,  I  determined  to 
take  leave. 

At  six  o'clock  one  morning,  taking  advantage  of  a  mo- 
ment when  I  was  left  to  myself,  I  hastily  dressed,  went 
down  stairs,  and  found  a  stage-coach  just  starting  for 
Blois.  I  entered  the  rotonde,  in  which  I  happened  to  be 
the  only  passenger,  and  the  coach,  lightly  laden  as  it  was, 
soon  set  off  at  full  gallop. 

The  journey  was  a  horrible  martyrdom  to  me.  I  was 
devoured  by  a  burning  fever,  and  my  head  seemed  to  be 
burst  asunder  by  every  jolt  of  the  vehicle.  In  my  frenzy 
I  tried  to  escape  my  agony,  and  yet  it  was  continually 
increasing.  Unable  to  endure  longer,  I  opened  the  door 
of  the  compartment,  and  leaped,  at  an  imminent  risk  of 
my  life,  on  to  the  -high  road,  where  I  fell  in  a  state  of  in- 
sensibility. 

I  cannot  say  what  happened  to  me  after  my  fainting  fit ; 
I  can  only  remember  long  days  of  vague  and  painful  ex- 
istence, that  appeared  of  eternal  duration:  I  was  in  a 
raging  fever;  my  dreams  were  frightful,  and  I  suffered 
from  the  most  dreadful  hallucinations.  One  of  them  was 
incessantly  recurring  —  it  seemed  as  if  my  head  opened 
like  a  snuff-box ;  a  doctor,  with  turned-up  cuffs,  and  armed 
with  an  enormous  pair  of  iron  pincers,  drew  from  my  brain 


54  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

roasted  chesnuts,  which,  immediately  burst  like  bombs,  and 
scattered  myriads  of  scintillations  before  my  eyes. 

This  phantasmagoria  gradually  faded  away,  and  the  ill- 
ness at  length  succumbed ;  but  my  reason  was  so  shaken 
that  it  did  not  avail  me.  I  was  reduced  to  a  mechanical 
existence.  If  I  noticed  anything,  it  seemed  veiled  in  a 
thick  mist,  and  I  could  not  perform  any  process  of  reason- 
ing. It  is  true  that  all  I  did  notice  only  served  to  increase 
the  confusion  of  my  ideas.  I  felt  as  if  being 'shaken  in  a 
carriage,  and,  yet,  I  was  in  a  capital  bed,  and  the  room 
was  exquisitely  clean.  How  could  I  help  fancying  I  was 
still  dreaming  ? 

At  length,  a  spark  of  intelligence  was  aroused  in  me, 
and  the  first  startling  impression  was  produced  by  the 
sight  of  a  man  standing  at  my  bedside.  His  features  were 
quite  strange  to  me.  Stooping  over,  he  affectionately 
urged  me  to  swallow  a  draught.  I  obeyed ;  and  he  then 
begged  me  to  keep  silent,  and  remain  as  calm  as  I  possibly 
could. 

Unfortunately,  my  present  state  of  weakness  rendered 
it  but  too  easy  to  follow  this  prescription.  Still,  I  tried 
to  guess  who  this  man  could  be,  and  consulted  my  memory. 
It  was  quite  useless :  I  could  remember  nothing  since  the 
moment  when,  yielding  to  frenzy,  I  had  thrown  myself 
out  of  the  diligence. 


I  RETURN  TO  LIFE.  55 


CHAPTER    IV. 

I  return  to  Life — A  strange  Doctor — Torrini  and  Antonio:  a  Conjurer 
and  a  Fanatic  for  Music — A  Murderer's  Confession  —  A  perambulat- 
ing House — The  Fair  at  Angers — A  portable  Theatre — I  witness  for 
the  first  Time  a  Conjuring  Performance — The  blind  Man's  Game  at 
Piquet — A  Dangerous  Rival — Signor  Castelli  eats  a  Man  alive. 

I  AM  by  no  means  a  fatalist ;  and  yet  I  cannot  refrain 
from  remarking  here  that  many  events  in  human  life  seem 
to  encourage  the  views  of  fatalists. 

Suppose,  dear  reader,  that,  on  leaving  Blois  to  proceed 
to  Tours,  destiny  had  opened  before  me  one  of  the  fairest 
pages  of  my  life,  I  should  certainly  have  been  delighted  at 
such  a  glorious  future,  but  in  my  heart  I  should  have  been 
inclined  to  doubt  its  realization.  In  fact,  I  set  out  as  a 
simple  workman,  with  the  intention  of  making  a  tour  of 
France.  This  journey  would  have  occupied  much  time,  as 
I  intended  to  remafa^.  a  year  or  two  in  every  city  I  visited, 
and  France  is  largW1!  Then,  when  I  considered  myself 
skilful  enough,  I  would  return  home  and  set  up  as  a  watch- 
maker. 

But  fate  decided  otherwise,  and  I  must  be  drawn  back 
to  my  real  "  groove  "  when  I  tried  to  escape  from  it.  The 
means  employed  were  a  poisoning,  which  turned  me  mad, 
and  hurled  me  lifeless  on  the  high  road.-  But  I  was  going 
to  recal  my  reminiscences  after  my  fortunate  catastrophe, 
and  I  will  take  up  the  story  from  the  point  where  I  left  off. 

What  had  happened  since  my  fainting  fit ;  where  was  I ; 


56  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBEBT-HOUDIN. 

why  did  this  man  treat  me  so  kindly  ?  I  longed  for  a  so- 
lution of  these  problems,  and  I  should  certainly  have 
cross-questioned  my  host,  had  it  not  been  for  the  earnest 
advice  he  had  just  given  me.  As  thought,  however,  was 
not  forbidden,  I  tried  to  form  a  satisfactory  conclusion 
from  surrounding  objects. 

The  room  I  was  in  might  be  three  yards  long  by  two 
broad.  The  walls  were  made  of  polished  oak ;  on  either 
side  was  a  small  window  with  muslin  curtains ;  while  four 
walnut  chairs,  shelves  serving  as  tables,  and  my  excellent 
bed,  composed  the  furniture  of  this  moving  room,  which 
bore  a  close  resemblance  to  the  cabin  of  a  steamboat. 

There  must  also  be  two  other  compartments,  for,  to  my 
left,  I  saw  my  doctor  frequently  disappear  behind  two  red 
damask  curtains,  where  I  heard  him  moving  about,  while 
to  my  right  I  heard,  through  a  thin  partition,  a  voice 
encouraging  the  horses.  This  circumstance  made  me  con- 
clude I  was  in  a  carriage,  and  that  the  latter  voice  be- 
longed to  the  driver. 

I  already  knew  that  hero's  name,  as  I  had  often  heard 
the  person  I  presumed  to  be  his  master  use  it.  It  was 
Antonio :  and  he  was,  at  any  rate,  a  splendid  musician, 
for  he  was  continually  singing  pieces  from  Italian  operas, 
which  he  broke  off  to  swear  harmlessly  at  his  steeds.  As 
for  the  master,  he  was  a  man  of  about  fifty,  above  the 
average  height,  and  his  face,  though  sad  and  serious,  dis- 
played a  degree  of  kindness  which  prepossessed  me.  His 
long  black  hair  fell  on  his  shoulders  in  natural  curls,  and 
he  was  dressed  in  a  blouse  and  trousers  of  unbleached 
cloth,  with  a  yellow  silk  pocket-handkerchief  as  cravat. 
But  nothing  in  all  this  served  to  tell  me  what  he  was,  and 
my  suprise  was  increased  by  finding  him  constantly  at  my 
side,  and  nursing  me  like  the  fondest  of  mothers. 


A  CONJURER  AND  A  FRIEND.  fc,* 

A  day  had  clasped  since  his  recommendation  to  keep 
silent ;  I  had  gained  a  little  strength,  and  fancied  myself 
strong  enough  to  talk ;  I  was,  therefore,  going  to  begin, 
when  my  host,  guessing  my  intention,  prevented  me. 

"I  can  imagine,"  he  said,  "your  impatience  to  know 
where  you  are  and  whom  with ;  nor,  will  I  conceal  from 
you  that  I  am  equally  curious  to  learn  the  circumstances 
that  led  to  our  meeting.  Still,  in  regard  for  your  health, 
the  responsibility  of  which  I  have  assumed,  I  must  ask  you 
to  be  patient  for  one  night  more ;  to-morrow,  I  believe,  we 
shall  be  able  to  talk  as  long  as  you  like,  without  any  risk." 

As  I  had  no  serious  objection  to  raise,  and  as  I  had 
been  wont  for  some  time  to  obey  all  my  strange  doctor 
ordered,  I  yielded.  The  certainty  of  soon  holding  the 
key  to  the  enigma  secured  me  a  peaceful  sleep,  whose 
good  effects  I  noticed  on  waking.  Thus,  when  the  doctor 
came  to  feel  my  pulse,  he  was  surprised  at  the  progress  I 
had  made  in  a  few  hours,  and,  without  awaiting  my  ques- 
tions, he  said,  as  if  replying  to  the  mute  inquiry  my  eyes 
made: 

"Yes,  I  will  satisfy  your  just  curiosity;  I  owe  you  an 
explanation,  and  you  shall  not  wait  any  longer.  My 
name  is  Torrini,  and  I  am  a  conjurer  by  profession.  You 
are  in  my  house  —  that  is,  in  the  carriage  I  usually  em- 
ploy as  my  domicile.  You  will  be  surprised,  I  dare  say, 
to  learn  that  the  bedroom  you  now  occupy  can  be  length- 
ened into  a  theatre,  and  in  that  room  behind  the  red  cur- 
tains is  the  stage  on  which  my  apparatus  is  arranged." 

At  the  word  "  conjurer  "  I  could  not  repress  a  start  of 
satisfaction,  which  my  sorcerer  probably  did  not  notice, 
ignorant  as  he  was  that  he  had  before  him  one  of  the  most 
fervent  adepts  of  his  profession. 

"As  for  yourself,,"  he  went  on,  "I  need  not  ask  you 


58  MEMOIRS  OF  EOBERT-HOUDIN. 

any  questions :  your  name,  trade,  as  well  as  the  cause  of 
your  illness,  are  known  to  me,  for  I  consulted  your  livret, 
and  some  letters  I  found  on  you,  in  my  desire  to  benefit 
you.  I  must  now  tell  you,  though,  all  that  has  happened 
since  you  lost  consciousness.  After  giving  some  repre- 
sentations at  Orleans,  I  was  proceeding  to  Angers,  where 
the  fair  will  shortly  begin,  when,  at  some  distance  from 
Amboise,  I  found  you  lying  insensible,  with  your  face  to 
the  ground.  Fortunately  for  you,  I  was  then  taking  my 
morning  walk  by  the  horses'  side,  and  this  circumstance 
saved  you  from  being  run  over.  By  Antonio's  help  I  car- 
ried you  to  my  bed,  and  my  knowledge  of  medicine  re- 
stored you  to  life.  But,  my  poor  fellow !  the  fever  caus- 
ed you  to  make  the  most  terrible  outbreaks  ;  you  threat- 
ened me  continually,  and  I  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
mastering  you.  At  Tours  I  would  have  gladly  stopped  to 
call  in  a  doctor,  for  your  situation  was  critical,  and  I  had 
not  practiced  for  many  years: — but  my  hours  were 
counted:  I  must  arrive  in  time  at  Angers,  where  I  wish 
to  choose  a  good  spot  for  my  exhibition,  and  I  had  a  strange 
fancy  I  should  save  your  life,  which  has  proved  true." 

Not  knowing  how  to  thank  this  excellent  Torrini,  I 
offered  him  my  hand,  which  he  pressed  firmly:  but — must 
I  confess  it  —  I  was  checked  in  the  effusion  of  my  gratitude 
by  a  thought  which  I  deeply  regretted  later. 

"To  what  motive,"  I  asked  myself,  " can  I  attribute 
this  sudden  affection  ?"  This  feeling,  however  sincere  it 
might  be,  must  have  some  cause,  and  in  my  ingratitude  I 
sought  whether  my  benefactor  did  not  conceal  some  inter- 
ested design  bohind  his  apparent  generosity.  Torrini,  as 
if  he  had  guessed  my  thoughts,  continued,  in  a  kindly 
tone: 

"You  expect  a  fuller  explanation?  Well,  however 
painful  it  may  be  to  me,  I  will  give  it.  It  is  this  — 


A  PHILANTHROPIC  ASSASSIN.  59 

"You  arc  surprised  that  a  mountebank,  a  man  belonging 
to  a  class  not  generally  erring  on  the  side  of  sensibility, 
should  have  evinced  such  compassion  for  your  sufferings, 
but  your  surprise  will  cease,  my  boy,  on  learning  that 
this  compassion  is  produced  by  the  sweet  illusion  of  pa- 
ternal love." 

Here  Torrini  stopped  an  instant,  tried  to  recover  him- 
self, and  then  proceeded : 

"  I  had  a  son,  a  beloved  son ;  he  was  my  hope,  my  life, 
my  happiness;  but  a  dread  fatality  robbed  me  of  him:  he 
died,  and,  terrible  to  say,  he  was  assassinated,  and  his 
murderer  stands  before  you!" 

At  this  unexpected  confession  I  could  not  repress  a 
start  of  horror ;  the  cold  drops  beaded  on  my  face. 

"Yes,  yes,  his  murderer  !"  Torrini  went  on,  his  voice 
growing  gradually  firmer,  "and,  yet,  the  law  could  not 
punish  me ;  it  left  me  life.  In  vain  I  accused  myself  be- 
fore my  judges ;  they  treated  me  as  a  maniac,  and  my 
crime  was  regarded  as  accidental  homicide.  But  what  do 
I  care,  after  all,  for  their  judgment  ?  Whether  through 
carelessness,  or  imprudence  as  they  say,  my  poor  Gio- 
vanni is  not  the  less  lost  to  me,  and  I  shall  reproach  my- 
self with  his  death  my  life  long." 

Torrini's  voice  was  drowned  by  his  sobs.  He  remained 
for  some  time  with  his  hands  before  his  eyes ;  then,  mak- 
ing an  effort,  he  continued,  in  a  calmer  tone : 

"  To  spare  you  emotions  that  might  prove  dangerous  in 
your  present  state,  I  will  abridge  the  narrative  of  the 
misfortunes  to  which  this  event  was  only  a  terrible  prelude. 
What  I  have  said  will  suffice  to  explain  the  natural  cause 
of  my  sympathy  towards  you.  When  I  first  saw  you,  I 
was  struck  by  the  likeness  you  bore  in  age  and  height  to 
my  unhappy  boy.  I  even  fancied  I  could  trace  a  certain 


60  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

resemblance  in  your  face,  and  yielding  to  this  illusion,  I 
decided  on  keeping  you  near  me,  and  nursing  you  as  if 
you  were  my  own  child.  You  can  now  form  an  idea  of 
the  agony  I  endured  during  the  week  when  I  was  com- 
pelled to  despair  of  your  restoration  to  life.  But  Provi- 
dence, taking  pity  on  us  both,  has  saved  you.  You  are 
now  quite  convalescent,  and  in  a  few  days,  I  trust,  will  be 
perfectly  recovered.  Such,  my  boy,  is  the  secret  of  the 
affection  I  displayed  towards  you." 

Deeply  moved  by  the  father's  misfortunes,  and  touched 
by  the  tender  care  he  had  bestowed  on  me,  I  could  only 
express  my  gratitude  in  half-broken  phrases,  for  I  was 
almost  stifled  by  emotion.  Torrini,  also  feeling  the  neces- 
sity of  shortening  this  painful  interview,  went  out,  prom- 
ising to  return  soon. 

No  sooner  was  I  alone  than  a  thousand  thoughts  crossed 
my  mind.  This  mysterious  and  tragical  event,  the  thought 
of  which  seemed  to  overthrow  Torrini's  reason ;  this  crime 
of  which  he  accused  himself  so  persistently ;  this  verdict 
whose  justice  he  disputed,  perplexed  me  in  the  highest  de- 
gree, and  gave  me  a  great  desire  to  obtain  more  complete 
details  about  this  domestic  drama.  Then,  I  asked  myself 
how  a  man  possessing  so  agreeable  a  countenance,  who 
did  not  lack  either  judgment  or  talent,  and  who  joined  to 
a  solid  education  a  readiness  of  conversation  and  distin- 
guished manners,  could  have  thus  sunk  to  the  lowest  stage 
of  his  profession. 

While  absorbed  in  these  thoughts,  the  vehicle  stopped : 
we  had  arrived  at  Angers.  Torrini  left  us,  in  order  to 
obtain  the  mayor's  leave  to  perform,  and  so  soon  as  he 
had  succeeded,  he  prepared  to  occupy  the  spot  allotted  to 
him.  As  I  have  already  stated,  the  room  I  occupied  was 
to  be  transformed  into  a  theatre ;  hence  I  was  carried  to 


WE  ARRIVE  AT  ANGERS.  61 

an  adjacent  inn,  and  placed  in  a  capital  arm  chair  ctose 
to  an  open  window.  The  weather  was  glorious ;  the  sun's 
beneficent  rays  seemed  to  impart  fresh  life  to  me,  and  I 
began  to  lose  that  egotistic  indifference  which  a  lengthened 
illness  usually  produces. 

I  could  see  Antonio  and  his  master,  with  their  sleeves 
tucked  up,  working  at  the  theatre.  In  a  few  hours  our 
residence  was  completely  transformed ;  the  moving  house 
had  become  a  charming  room.  The  arrangement  of  this 
singular  vehicle  is  so  stamped  on  my  memory,  that  I  can 
still  supply  an  exact  description  of  it,  and  I  will  fill  up 
the  details  I  have  already  given  of  it. 

The  bed  on  which  I  had  lain  was  drawn  up  through  a 
trap  in  the  ceiling,  where  it  occupied  a  very  small  space. 
If  clothes  or  linen  were  required,  an  adjoining  trap  was 
opened,  and  by  means  of  a  ring,  a  chest  of  drawers  was 
produced,  as  if  by  magic.  A  similar  process  revealed  a 
small  chimney,  which,  by  a  peculiar  arrangement,  expelled 
the  smoke  below  the  hearth.  Lastly,  the  larder,  cooking- 
range,  and  other  accessories  of  the  household,  were  ready 
to  hand,  and  could  be  easily  restored  to  their  respective 
places.  This  strange  furniture  occupied  all  the  space 
between  the  wheels,  so  that  the  room,  though  amply  fur- 
nished, was  not  crowded. 

But  I  was  most  surprised  to  see  the  vehicle,  which  was 
scarcely  six  yards  long,  suddenly  grow  twice  that  length. 
This  was  most  ingeniously  contrived  :  the  body  was  double 
and  could  be  pulled  out  like  a  telescope.  This  prolonga- 
tion, supported  by  trestels,  was  quite  as  secure  as  the  rest 
of  the  edifice.  The  partition,  dividing  the  rooms  off,  had 
been  removed,  so  that  they  now  formed  but  a  single  apart- 
ment. The  public  entered  on  this  side,  and  a  staircase 
led  to  the  door,  before  which  an  elegant  marquee  formed 


62  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

a  vestibule,  where  the  tickets  were  issued.  Lastly,  a 
scaffolding  was  erected  over  the  front,  which  represented 
a  stuccoed  house. 

The  sight  of  this  machine  excited  my  imagination,  and 
I  built  castles  in  the  air  which  I  was  never  to  inhabit.  I, 
too,  would  have  a  similar  vehicle,  though  rather  smaller, 
as  my  exhibition  would  be  different. 

Here  I  must  make  room  for  a  parenthesis,  to  supply  an 
explanation  I  think  necessary.  I  have  spoken  so  much 
of  sleight-of-hand,  that  it  might  be  supposed  I  had  quite 
given  up  all  thoughts  about  mechanism.  On  the  contrary 
I  still  passionately  loved  that  science ;  but  I  had  modified 
its  application,  since  the  love  of  the  marvellous  had  in- 
flamed my  imagination.  I  proposed  to  call  to  my  aid 
automata,  which  I  would  eventually  build ;  then,  I  would 
traverse  the  whole  of  Europe,  perhaps  the  world,  gaining 
an  ample  amount  of  honor,  pleasure  and  profit. 

While  engaged  with  these  pleasant  dreams  I  regained 
my  health  and  strength,  and  hoped  that  Torrini  would 
soon  allow  me  to  be  present  at  one  of  his  performances. 
In  fact,  he  soon  offered  me  an  agreeable  surprise,  for,  one 
evening,  he  led  me  to  his  theatre,  and  installed  me  on  the 
first  row  of  seats,  grandly  denominated  "the  stalls." 
Judging  by  my  own  enthusiasm,  I  expected  the  theatre 
would  be  thronged  so  soon  as  the  doors  opened,  but  to  my 
great  surprise  and  regret,  the  room  was  not  more  than 
half  full. 

The  hour  fixed  for  commencing  at  length  arrived ;  the 
bell  rang  thrice,  the  curtains  were  drawn  back,  and  an 
exquisite  little  stage  was  visible.  The  most  striking  thing 
was  the  entire  absence  of  all  that  apparatus  by  which 
many  performers  compensate  for  their  lack  of  skill,  while 
by  a  graceful  innovation,  a  few  candles  artistically  ar- 


THE  DANCING  MASTER.  63 

ranged,  were  substituted  for  that  dazzling  glare  which,  at 
the  period  of  which  I  write,  was  the  indispensable  orna- 
ment of  all  performances  of  "amusing  science." 

Torrini  appeared,  walked  towards  the  public  with  great 
ease  of  manner,  made  a  deep  bow,  then  demanded  the 
indulgence  of  the  spectators,  and  ended  by  paying  a  com- 
pliment to  the  ladies.  This  slight  address,  though  uttered 
in  a  cold  and  melancholy  tone,  received  a  few  encouraging 
bravos  from  the  audience. 

The  performance  commenced  in  the  most  perfect  si- 
lence ;  everybody  seemed  inclined  to  devote  all  attention 
to  it.  I  could  hardly  breathe,  in  my  desire  not  to  lose  a 
single  word  or  gesture. 

I  will  not  describe  the  several  tricks  I  saw ;  they  all 
possessed  extraordinary  interest  for  me ;  but  Torrini  ap- 
peared to  excel  in  card  tricks.  He  possessed  two  most 
precious  qualities  in  the  exercise  of  this  art :  these  were 
extreme  skill  and  an  incredible  boldness  of  execution. 
To  these  he  added  a  most  aristocratic  way  of  touching  the 
cards ;  his  white  and  carefully-tended  hands  seemed  hardly 
to  rest  on  them,  and  his  tricks  were  so  artistically  per- 
formed, that  the  audience  involuntarily  bestowed  a  sym- 
pathising confidence  upon  him.  Sure  of  the  effect  he 
would  produce,  he  performed  the  most  difficult  "passes," 
with  a  coolness  no  one  could  expect  him  to  possess ;  and 
this  produced  the  most  successful  results.  To  close  the 
performances,  Torrini  requested  the  audience  to  choose 
some  one  to  play  a  game  of  piquet  with  him,  and  a  gen- 
tleman immediately  stepped  on  the  stage. 

"Pardon  me,  sir,"  said  Torrini,  "but  it  is  indispen- 
sable, for  the  success  of  the  experiment,  that  I  should  know 
your  name  and  profession." 

"Nothing  easier  $  sir.     My  name  is  Joseph  Lenoir,  at 


64  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

your  service;  and  my  profession  is  that  of  a  dancing- 
master." 

Any  other  than  Torrini  would  have  made  some  jest  on 
the  name  and  profession  of  this  rival  of  Vestris ;  but  he 
did  nothing  of  the  sort.  He  had  only  asked  this  question 
to  gain  time,  for  he  never  indulged  in  any  mystification  ; 
so  he  merely  added : 

"I  thank  you,  sir,  for  your  kindness ;  and  now  we  know 
who  we  are,  we  can  place  confidence  in  each  other.  You 
have  come  to  play  a  game  of  piquet  with  me ;  but  do  you 
understand  the  game  thoroughly?" 

"  I  flatter  myself  I  do,  sir." 

"Ah!  ah!"  Torrini  said  with  a  laugh.  "Pray  do  not 
flatter  yourself  till  we  have  played  our  game.  Still,  not 
to  lower  your  self-esteem,  I  will  allow  you  to  be  an  excel- 
lent player ;  but  that  will  not  prevent  you  losing  the  game, 
although  the  chances  are  all  in  your  favor.  Listen  to  me 
carefully ;  the  trick  I  am  going  to  perform,  and  which  is 
called  the  'blind  man's  game  of  piquet,'  requires  that  I 
should  be  blinded,  so  have  the  goodness  to  bandage  my 
eyes  carefully." 

M.  Lenoir,  who,  I  may  mention,  wore  spectacles,  was 
very  distrustful,  hence  he  took  extraordinary  precautions 
to  accomplish  his  task.  First,  he  covered  the  patient's 
eyes  with  tow,  over  which  he  fastened  three  thick  band- 
ages ;  and,  as  if  this  fourfold  covering  were  not  enough  to 
blind  his  opponent,  he  fastened  an  enormous  shawl  round 
his  head.  I  know  not  how  Torrini  kept  from  suffocation 
beneath  these  heavy  bandages ;  for  my  part,  the  perspi- 
ration ran  down  my  face  at  seeing  him  so  muffled  up.  Not 
knowing  all  the  resources  this  skilful  performer  had  at 
command,  I  was  rather  fearful  as  to  the  result  of  the  ex- 
periment, and  my  alarm  reached  its  climax  when  I  heard 
hin  address  his  opponent  as  follows : 


A  GAME  OF  PIQUET.  65 

"Monsieur  Lenoir,  have  the  kindness  to  sit  down  oppo- 
site me  at  this  table.  I  have  still  a  small  service  to  ask 
you  before  we  begin  our  game.  You  have  quite  deprived 
me  of  my  sight,  but  that  is  not  enough.  You  have  now  to 
bind  my  hands,  so  that  I  may  be  quite  incapable." 

M.  Lenoir  raised  his  spectacles  and  looked  at  Torrini,  as 
if  stupefied;  but  the  latter,  quietly  placing  his  arms  on  the 
table,  and  crossing  his  thumbs,  said,  "Now,  sir,  fasten 
them  securely." 

The  dancing-master  took  the  piece  of  whipcord  and  per- 
formed his  task  as  conscientiously  as  he  had  done  the  first 
part. 

"Am  I  now  blinded,  and  deprived  of  the  use  of  my 
hands?"  Torrini  asked  his  vis-a-vis. 

"I  am  certain  of  it,"  Joseph  Lenoir  replied." 

"  Well,  then,  to  begin  our  game.  But  tell  me  first  in 
what  suit  you  would  like  to  be  repiqued?" 

"In  clubs." 

"  Very  good ;  now  deal  the  cards  by  twos  or  threes,  as 
you  please.  When  they  are  dealt  out,  I  will  leave  you  to 
select  the  hand  you  think  will  enable  you  best  to  prevent 
a  rcpique." 

All  the  time  these  explanations  and  preparations  lasted, 
the  audience  remained  motionless  and  silent,  not  knowing 
whether  a  mystification  or  a  real  trick  were  intended. 
Now,  on  seeing  the  dancing-master  shuffle  the  cards,  there 
could  be  no  further  doubt ;  hence  all  rose  to  command  a 
view  of  the  stage,  and  a  great  number  of  spectators  even^ 
surrounded  the  table.  I  had  also  drawn  near,  and,  to  my 
great  delight,  secured  a  front  place. 

Profound  silence  in  the  room. 

"  The  cards  are  shuffled,  please  to  cut !"  the  dancing- 
master  said,  in  an  ironical  tone,  as  if  secure  of  victory. 

E 


66  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

"Willingly,"  Torrini  replied.  And  though  hampered 
in  his  movements,  he  soon  satisfied  his  opponent. 

The  cards  having  been  dealt,  M.  Lenoir  decided  on 
keeping  those  before  him.  .... 

"Very  good!"  said  Torrini.  "You  wished,  I  think, 
to  be  repiqued  in  clubs  ?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Now  follow  my  play.  I  throw  out  the  sevens  of 
spades,  hearts,  and  diamonds,  and  my  two  eights ;  the 
cards  I  take  in  give  me  a  quint  in  clubs,  fourteen  in 
queens,  and  fourteen  in  kings,  with  which  I  repique  you. 
Pray  count  and  verify,  sir." 

Torrini  spoke  the  truth.  Hearty  shouts  of  applause 
greeted  his  success,  while  jokes  were  cut  at  the  expense 
of  the  poor  dancing-master,  who  hurried  from  the  stage  in 
a  state  of  pitiable  confusion. 

The  performance  over,  I  expressed  to  Torrini  the  plea- 
sure his  tricks  caused  me,  and  paid  him  some  sincere 
compliments  on  the  skill  he  had  evinced  during  the  whole 
evening,  and  especially  in  his  last  trick. 

"  These  compliments  are  the  more  flattering,"  he  re- 
plied, with  a  smile,  "as  I  know  now  they  are  paid  me,  if 
not  by  a  fellow-artist,  at  least  by  an  amateur,  who,  I  am 
certain,  already  possesses  same  degree  of  skill  in  the  pro- 
fession." 

I  know  not  which  of  us,  Torrini  or  myself,  was  the 
more  charmed  by  the  compliments  we  exchanged  ;  at  any 
rate,  I  felt  most  sensibly  the  favorable  opinion  he  had 
formed  of  my  talents.  One  thing,  however,  perplexed 
me :  I  had  never  said  a  word  to  Torrini  about  my  sleight- 
of-hand  fancies  :  how  could  he  have  found  them  out  ? 

He  read  my  thoughts,  and  added : 


I  AM  FOUND  OUT.  67 

"  You  are  surprised  at  my  detecting  your  secret  ?  and 
you  would  like  to  know  how  I  did  so.  I  am  happy  to  tell 
you.  My  room  is  small ;  hence  it  is  easy  for  me,  when  on 
the  stage,  to  look  at  every  face,  and  judge  the  various 
impressions  I  produce  on  the  spectators.  I  observed  you 
particularly,  and  while  watching  the  direction  of  your 
eyes,  I  could  judge  what  was  passing  in  your  mind. 
Thus  when  I  indulged  in  some  amusing  paradox,  to  draw 
public  attention  away  from  the  side  where  the  trick  was 
to  be  performed,  you  alone  escaped  the  snare,  and  kept 
your  eyes  fixed  on  the  right  spot.  As  for  my  piquet 
trick,  though  I  could  not  observe  you  while  I  was  per- 
forming it,  I  have  reasons  to  be  assured  that  you  did  not 
know  it." 

"  You  have  guessed  perfectly  right,  my  dear  magician, 
and  I  cannot  deny  that  in  my  leisure  hours  I  have  amused 
myself  with  some  of  these  tricks,  for  which  I  always  felt 
great  inclination." 

"  Inclination  !  Allow  me  to  say  that  is  not  the  proper 
word  in  your  case,  my  dear  lad ;  yours  is  a  true  passion. 
I  base  my  opinion  on  the  following  observations.  This 
evening,  from  the  moment  of  the  curtain  rising,  your 
searching  eye,  your  agitated  face  and  half-parted  lips, 
denoted  the  state  of  excitement  you  were  in.  You  looked 
like  a  gourmet  just  sitting  down  to  a  well-covered  board, 
or  a  miser  gloating  over  his  treasure.  Do  you  think  that 
with  these  signs  I  need  be  a  sorcerer  to  discover  the  sway 
conjuring  exercises  over  your  mind  ?" 

I  was  about  to  reply,  when  Torrini  drew  out  his  watch, 
and  said  to  me,  "  Come,  young  gentleman,  it  is  growing 
late ;  it  is  high  time  for  a  convalescent  to  seek  his  rest. 
We  will  continue  our  conversation  at  a  better  time." 

With  these  words  my  doctor  led  me  to  my  room,  and, 


68  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

after  counting  my  pulse,  which  appeared  to  satisfy  him, 
retired.  In  spite  of  the  pleasure  I  felt  in  talking,  I  was 
not  ill-pleased  to  find  myself  alone,  for  I  had  a  thousand 
souvenirs  to  evoke.  I  wished  to  summon  up  again  the 
ex-periments  that  had  struck  me  most,  but  it  was  all  in 
vain.  One  thought  mastered  all  the  rest,  and  produced  a 
strange  sinking  in  my  heart.  I  tried,  without  success,  to 
explain  the  motives  why  the  public  neglected  Torrini's 
interesting  performances. 

This  motive  Antonio  explained  to  me  afterwards,  and  it 
is  too  curious  to  be  passed  by  in  silence.  Besides,  I  have 
here  an  opportunity  to  introduce  my  readers  to  a  very 
remarkable  specimen  of  the  great  family  of  mountebanks. 

I  have  said  that  we  reached  Angers  at  fair  time ;  and 
among  the  numerous  providers  of  amusement  who  solicited 
the  presence  and  money  of  the  Angevins,  was  another 
conjurer,  known  as  Castelli. 

He  was  no  more  an  Italian  than  was  Torrini.  I  shall 
presently  give  Torrini's  real  name,  and  the  reasons  that 
caused  him  to  change  it  for  the  one  we  know  him  by ;  as 
for  the  other  conjurer,  he  was  a  Norman  by  birth,  and 
only  assumed  the  name  of  Castelli  in  conformity  with  the 
custom  of  most  conjurers  of  the  day,  who  thought  an 
Italian  name  more  attractive. 

Castelli  was  far  from  possessing  Torrini's  marvellous 
address,  and  his  performances  offered  no  special  interest 
as  far  as  sleight-of-hand  was  concerned ;  but  he  thought 
with  Figaro  that  "skill  was  better  than  learning,"  and  he 
proved  it  by  his  repeated  successes.  In  truth,  this  man 
was  the  incarnation  of  charlatanism,  and  he  spared  nothing 
to  pique  public  curiosity.  Each  day  some  new  prodigy 
was  announced  on  his  enormous  posters.  It  was  in  reality 
only  a  deception,  very  often  a  mystification  for  the  audi- 


SIGNOR  CASTELLI.  69 

ence;  but  his  treasury  was  always  filled  to  repletion — 
hence,  the  trick  was  good.  If  the  public  felt  wroth  at 
being  duped,  Castelli  knew  the  art  of  escaping  from  the 
dilemma  and  drawing  the  laughers  on  his  side ;  he  boldly 
made  some  jest  in  bad  Italian,  at  which  the  pit  could  not 
help  laughing,  and  was  thus  disarmed. 

Besides,  it  must  be  remembered  that,  at  this  period, 
conjuring  was  not  so  respectable  as  it  is  now ;  people  went 
to  an  exhibition  of  that  sort  to  laugh  at  the  conjurer's 
victims,  even  if  themselves  exposed  to  his  attacks.  My 
readers  ought  to  have  seen  the  mystifier  par  excellence, 
the  celebrated  physico-ventriloquist  of  the  age,  Comte, 
to  form  an  idea  of  the  cool  way  in  which  the  public 
was  then  treated.  This  performer,  though  so  graceful  and 
gallant  towards  ladies,  was  merciless  to  men.  According 
to  his  notions,  the  cavaliers  (as  they  were  then  called) 

were  predestined  to  supply  amusement  for  the  fair  sex 

But  I  must  not  poach  on  the  biography  of  the  "  natural 
philosopher  to  the  king,"  which  will  hereafter  find  a  place 
in  my  volume. 

The  same  day  on  which  I  had  witnessed  Torrini's  per- 
formance, Castelli's  bills  contained  an  astounding  state- 
ment, well  adapted,  I  grant,  to  tempt  public  curiosity. 
The  professor  pledged  himself  to  eat  a  man  alive,  and 
if  ho  did  not  succeed  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  audience, 
he  would  hand  over  all  the  receipts  to  the  mayor 
for  distribution  among  the  poor.  This  seductive  appeal 
had  drawn  the  whole  town ;  crowds  collected  round  the 
show,  and  persons  who  arrived  too  late  were  glad  to  pay 
double  entrance  money.  But  the  new  trick  played  by  the 
conjurer  was  quite  worthy  of  all  that  had  preceded  it. 

Castelli,  after  performing  several  tricks  of  second-rate 
interest,  at  length  arrived  at  the  one  which  caused  even 
the  calmest  spectator  to  throb  with  impatience. 


70  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  then  said,  addressing  the  audience, 
"  we  will  now  proceed  to  the  last  trick.  I  promised  to 
eat  a  man  alive  for  my  supper,  and  I  will  keep  my  word. 
Will  the  courageous  spectator  who  wishes  to  serve  as  a 
repast  to  me  (Castelli  pronounced  this  word  with  the  ex- 
pression of  a  perfect  cannibal)  take  the  trouble  to  mount 
on  the  stage  ?" 

Two  victims  immediately  presented  themselves.  By 
accident  they  offered  a  perfect  contrast,  and  Castelli,  who 
understood  the  art  of  producing  an  effect,  skilfully  profited 
by  it.  He  placed  them  side  by  side,  with  their  faces 
turned  to  the  audience,  then  after  surveying  one  of  them, 
a  tall,  bilious-looking  fellow,  from  head  to  foot,  he  said  to 
him,  with  affected  politeness, 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  insult  you,  sir,  but  I  am  sorry  to  tell 
you  that,  as  regards  my  food,  I  am  quite  of  M.  le  Cure"s 
opinion — you  understand  me  ?" 

The  tall,  thin  man  appeared  for  a  moment  as  if  trying 
to  guess  a  riddle,  and  ended  by  scratching  his  ear  —  a 
gesture  which,  among  all  nations,  civilized  or  barbarous, 
signifies,  "  I  do  not  understand." 

"I  will  explain,  then,"  Castelli  continued.  "You 
know  that  M.  le  Cure*  does  not  like  bones ;  at  least,  so 
they  say  at  forfeits,  and  I  assure  you  I  share  the  Curb's 
antipathy  in  this  respect.  You  can  retire,  then ;  I  will 
not  detain  you."  And  Castelli  began  bowing  to  his  visi- 
tor, who  hastened  back  to  his  seat. 

"Now,  then,  for  us  two,"  the  conjurer  said,  turning  to 
the  one  who  remained.  He  was  a  tall,  chubby  felloAv, 
with  rosy  cheeks,  who  seemed  purposely  made  for  the 
repast  of  an  epicurean  cannibal. 

"Well,  my  stout  friend,  so  you  consent  to  be  eaten 
alive?" 


A  VERY  CANNIBAL.  71 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  am  quite  willing,  and  came  here  for  that 
purpose." 

"Ah!  ah!  that  is  capital !"  (Here  Castelli  licked  his 
lips  like  a  gourmet,  whose  mouth  waters  at  the  sight  of  a 
dainty  dish.)  "  As  I  have  a  powerful  appetite,  we  will 
begin  directly." 

At  this  moment  a  gigantic  cruet-stand  was  brought  in. 
The  stout  youth  regarded  it  with  surprise,  as  if  trying  to 
discover  the  use  of  this  strange  utensil. 

"  Don't  mind  it,  pray !"  said  Castelli.  "  I  am  very 
fond  of  hot  dishes,  so  allow  me  to  pepper  and  salt  you  in 
my  usual  fashion." 

And  he  began  covering  the  unhappy  man  with  a  white 
powder,  which,  adhering  to  his  hair,  face,  and  clothes, 
soon  gave  him  an  extraordinary  appearance.  The  stout 
youth,  who  at  the  beginning  had  tried  to  rival  the  conjurer's 
gaiety,  did  not  laugh  now,  and  seemed  earnestly  to  desire 
the  end  of  the  jest. 

"  Now,  then !"  Castelli  added,  rolling  his  eyes  about 
ferociously,  "  kneel  down,  and  hold  your  hands  over  your 
head.  Very  good,  my  friend :  it  really  looks  as  if  you 
had  never  followed  any  other  trade  than  being  eaten  alive. 
Now,  then,  say  your  prayers,  and  I  will  begin.  Are  you 
ready?" 

"  Yes,  sir,"  the  stout  lad  muttered,  turning  quite  yellow 
with  emotion,  "  I  am  ready." 

Castelli  then  took  the  end  of  the  patient's  thumb  in  his 
mouth,  and  bit  it  so  hard  that  the  latter,  as  if  working  by 
a  spring,  jumped  up,  shouting  energetically, 

"  Confound  it,  sir,  take  care ;  you  hurt  me  !" 

"  What !  I  hurt  you?"  Castelli  said,  with  perfect  calm- 
ness. "What  will  you  say,  then,  when  I  reach  your 
head  ?  It  was  really  absurd  of  you  to  cry  out  like  a  baby 


72  MEMOIRS  OF  KOBERT-HOUDIN. 

at  the  first  mouthful.  Come,  be  reasonable :  let  me  go 
on.  I  am  frightfully  hungry,  and  long  for  my  supper." 

And  Castelli,  thrusting  him  by  the  shoulders,  tried  to 
make  him  take  his  first  position.  But  the  young  man  re- 
sisted with  all  his  strength,  as  he  cried,  in  a  voice  palsied 
with  fear,  "  I  won't  have  it :  I  tell  you  I  won't  have  it. 
You  hurt  me  too  much  !"  At  length,  by  a  supreme  effort, 
he  escaped  from  his  tormentor's  hands.  During  this  time 
the  audience,  foreseeing  the  result  of  this  amusing  scene, 
had  been  shouting  with  laughter,  and  Castelli  found  some 
difficulty  in  gaining  a  hearing. 

"  Gentlemen  !"  he  said,  assuming  a  tone  of  the  deepest 
disappointment,  "  you  see  me  both  surprised  and  vexed  at 
the  flight  of  that  gentleman,  who  had  not  the  courage  to 
allow  himself  to  be  eaten.  Now,  I  expect  some  one  to 
take  his  place;  for,  far  from  shunning  the  performance 
of  my  promise,  I  feel  so  comfortable,  that  I  pledge  myself, 
after  eating  the  first  spectator  who  offers,  to  eat  the 
second,  and  so  on.  Indeed,  to  prove  myself  worthy  your 
applause,  I  promise  to  eat  the  whole  roomful." 

This  jest  was  greeted  by  another  hearty  laugh,  but  the 
farce  was  played  out.  No  one  came  forward  to  be  eaten, 
and  the  crowd  went  home  to  digest  the  trick  played  on 
them  all. 

If  such  manoeuvres  could  succeed,  few  spectators  were 
left  for  Torrini.  As  he  desired  to  maintain  a  certain  dig- 
nity, he  never  announced  tricks  he  did  not  perform,  and, 
even  if  trying  to  render  the  titles  attractive,  he  always 
adhered  to  the  strictest  truth. 


ANTONIO'S  CONFESSIONS.  73 


CHAPTER  V. 

Antonio's  Confessions — How  to  gain  Public  Applause — The  Count 

de ,  Mountebank — I  repair  an  Automaton — A  Mechanician's 

Shop  on  Wheels — Nomadic  Life — Happy  Existence — Torrini's  Les- 
sons—  His  Opinions  about  Slcight-of-Hand — A  Fashionable  Greek, 
Victim  of  his  own  Swindling — The  Conjurer  Comus  —  A  Duel  at 
Piquet — Torrini  proclaimed  Conqueror — Revelations — New  Catas- 
trophe— Poor  Torrini! 

THE  day  after  the  performances,  Antonio  came  as  usual 
to  inquire  after  my  health.  I  have  already  said  this 
young  man  possessed  a  charming  character :  ever  gay, 
ever  singing,  his  fund  of  good  humor  was  inexhaustible, 
and  frequently  produced  a  degree  of  gaiety  in  our  house, 
which  otherwise  would  have  heen  very  gloomy.  On  open- 
ing my  door,  he  stopped  the  operatic  air  he  had  been 
humming  from  the  bottom  of  the  stairs. 

"  Well,  my  little  signor,"  he  said,  in  French,  pictur- 
esquely intermingled  with  Italian,  "how  is  the  health 
this  morning  ?" 

"Famous,  Antonio  —  famous,  thank  you!" 

"  Oh  yes  !  famous,  Antonio,  famous  !  "  and  the  Italian 
sought  to  repeat  the  intonation  of  my  voice.  "  I  believe 
you,  my  dear  patient,  but  that  will  hot  prevent  you  taking 
this  draught  the  doctor,  my  master,  has  sent  you." 

"  I  am  willing ;  but,  indeed,  this  medicine  is  becoming 
unnecessary,  for  I  now  feel  that  I  shall  soon  be  restored 
to  health,  and  then  I  shall  only  have  to  thank  you  and 


74  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

your  master  for  your  attention  to  me,  and  pay  him  the  ex- 
penses caused  by  my  illness." 

"What  are  you  talking  ahout ?"  Antonio  said.  "Do 
you  think  of  leaving  us  ?  Oh,  I  hope  not." 

"You  are  right,  Antonio;  I  am  not  thinking  of  it  to- 
day, but  I  must  consider  of  it  so  soon  as  I  am  in  a  con- 
dition to  leave.  You  must  see,  my  friend,  that,  in  spite  of 
all  the  pain  our  separation  will  cause  me,  I  must  make  up 
my  mind  to  it  before  long,  for  I  am  anxious  to  return  to 
Blois  and  reassure  my  family,  who  must  feel  most  uncom- 
fortable about  me." 

"  Your  family  cannot  be  uncomfortable,  as,  in  order  to 
calm  your  father,  you  wrote  to  him  that  your  illness,  hav- 
ing had  no  dangerous  results,  you  had  proceeded  to  Angers 
to  look  for  work." 

"  It  is  true,  but " 

"But,  but,"  Antonio  interrupted  me,  "you  have  no 
good  reason  to  offer.  I  repeat,  you  cannot  quit  us.  Be- 
sides," he  added,  lowering  his  voice,  "  if  I  told  you  some- 
thing, I  am  sure  you  would  be  of  my  opinion." 

Antonio  stopped,  appeared  to  struggle  for  a  moment 
against  the  desire  he  felt  to  confide  in  me,  then,  making 
up  his  mind,  said,  resolutely,  "  Ah,  bah !  as  it  is  neces- 
sary, I  cannot  hesitate.  You  were  talking  just  now  about 
paying  my  master.  Do  you  know  that  he  is,  I  fancy,  in 
your  debt?" 

"  I  do  not  understand  you." 

"  Well,  listen  to  rne,  my  dear  friend,"  Antonio  said, 
with  a  mysterious  air  ;  "  I  will  explain  myself.  You  are 
not  ignorant  that  our  poor  Torrini  is  afflicted  by  a  very 
grave  malady  that  touches  him  here  (and  Antonio  laid  his 
hand  on  his  forehead) ;  now,  since  you  have  been  with  us, 
and  he  fancies  he  can  trace  some  resemblance  to  his  son, 


DOUBTFUL  APPLAUSE.  75 

my  master  is  gradually  losing  his  sorrow,  and  even  indulges 
in  gaiety  now  and  then.  Yesterday,  for  instance,  during 
his  performance,  you  saw  him  make  his  audience  laugh 
twice  or  thrice,  which  has  not  occurred  for  a  long  time. 

"  Ah,  my  dear  sir,"  Antonio  continued,  growing  more 
and  more  communicative,  "  if  you  had  seen  him  before 
that  fatal  event,  when  he  performed  in  the  first  theatres  of 
Italy.  What  enthusiasm  !  what  spirit !  Who  could  have 
foretold  at  that  period  that  Count  de" — here  Antonio 
checked  himself — "  that  the  celebrated  Torrini  would  ever 
be  reduced  to  play  in  a  barn  as  the  rival  of  the  lowest 
mountebanks  —  he,  the  inimitable  sorcerer,  the  honored 
artist,  everywhere  known  as  the  handsome,  the  elegant 
Torrini!  However,  it  was  only  just;  for  he  eclipsed  the 
richest  professors  by  his  luxury  and  distinguished  manners, 
and  never  did  a  performer  more  fully  deserve  legitimate 
applause  for  his  talent  and  address. 

"However,  I  must  confess,"  Antonio  added,  carried 
away  by  his  confessions,  "  that  this  applause  was  some- 
times my  handiwork.  Doubtlessly  the  public  appreciates 
talent  with  intelligence,  but  it  often  requires  to  be  guided 
in  the  outburst  of  its  admiration.  I  took  charge  of  this 
duty,  and  without  saying  a  word  to  my  master,  I  prepared 
him  several  ovations  which  extended  and  prolonged  his 
success.  How  many  times  boquets,  thrown  at  the  right 
moment,  excited  the  applause  of  the  entire  audience  ?  how 
many  times  murmurs  of  approval,  skilfully  introduced, 
aroused  the  euthusiasm  of  the  theatre  ?  What  successes, 
my  dear  fellow  —  what  successes  we  had,  though,  in  those 
days.  I  cannot  give  you  a  better  idoa  of  them  than  by 
saying  that,  at  times,  my  master  could  hardly  manage  to 
spend  all  the  money  his  representations  produced." 

"It  is  a  pity,  that  your  master,"  I  said  to  Antonio, 


76  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

"  did  not  place  less  trust  in  the  future,  and  save  a  portion 
of  that  fortune  which  he  would  gladly  have  to-day." 

"We  have  often  made  that  reflection,"  he  replied,  "but 
it  only  increased  our  regret.  And  how  could  we  suppose 
then  that  Fortune  would  turn  her  back  on  us  so  suddenly  ? 
Besides,  my  master  thought  luxury  necessary  to  acquire 
that  prestige  which  he  liked  to  possess,  and  considered 
justly  that  his  prodigality  added  to  the  popularity  his 
talent  had  procured  him." 

This  confidential  talk  would  probably  have  lasted  longer, 
had  not  Torrini  called  Antonio,  who  suddenly  quitted  me. 

One  incident  struck  me  in  this  conversation :  it  was 
when  Antonio  recalled  his  master's  name.  This  remark 
only  increased  my  desire  to  know  Torrini's  history.  But 
I  had  no  time  to  lose,  as  the  last  performance  was  an- 
nourfc^d  for  the  following  day,  and  I  was  resolved  to  re- 
turn home. 

I  therefore  armed  myself  with  courage  to  overcome  the 
repugnance  which,  according  to  Antonio,  his  master  felt 
about  speaking  of  the  past,  and  after  we  had  breakfasted 
together,  I  broke  the  ice,  in  the  hope  I  should  lead  him  to 
tell  me  all  I  so  much  wanted  to  know. 

"You  are  going  to  Angoulcjme  to-morrow,"  I  said  to 
him,  "  and  I  regret  I  cannot  accompany  you :  we  must 
separate,  however  much  it  may  cost  me,  after  the  service 
you  have  rendered  me,  and  the  care  you  have  devoted  to 
me." 

I  then  begged  him  to  let  my  family  know  the  expenses 
my  illness  had  entailed,  and  I  ended  by  assuring  him  of 
my  deep  gratitude.  I  expected  to  hear  Torrini  oppose  my 
departure  :  but  it  was  not  so 

"However  much  you  may  press  me,"  he  replied,  with 
the  greatest  calmness,  "I  will  take  nothing  from  you. 


THE  AUTOMATON.  77 

How  can  I  ask  payment  for  what  has  caused  me  so  much 
happiness  ?  Never  talk  about  that.  You  wish  to  leave 
me,"  he  added,  with  that  affectionate  smile  peculiar  to 
him,  "  and  I  say  you  will  not  leave  me." 

I  was  going  to  reply. 

"  I  say  you  will  not  leave  me,"  he  repeated,  quickly, 
"  because  you  have  no  reason  to  do  so,  and  because,  pre- 
sently you  will  have  a  thousand  to  remain  some  time 
longer  with  me.  In  the  first  place,  you  require  great 
care  to  recover  your  health  and  root  out  the  remains  of  an 
illness  which  might  otherwise  return.  Besides,  I  will  add, 
I  was  awaiting  your  convalescence  to  ask  a  service  from 
you  which  you  cannot  refuse ;  I  want  you  to  repair  an 
automaton  I  bought  from  a  Dutch  mechanician,  of  the 
name  of  Opre",  and  I  am  sure  you  will  do  it  admirably." 

To  these  excellent  reasons  Torrini,  who  doubtlessly 
feared  some  hesitation  on  my  part,  joined  the  most  attrac- 
tive promises. 

"  To  lighten  your  labors,"  he  said,  "  we  will  have  long 
talks  about  conjuring.  I  will  explain  to  you  the  game  of 
piquet,  that  delighted  you  so  much,  and  after,  when  that 
subject  is  exhausted,  I  will  tell  you  the  most  important 
events  of  my  life.  You  will  learn  from  my  story  what  a 
man  is  capable  of  suffering  short  of  death,  and  the  lessons 
you  may  draw  from  a  life  now  almost  ended  may  serve, 
perchance,  to  guide  you  in  a  career  which  has  hardly  yet 
commenced.  Lastly,"  he  said,  offering  me  his  hand,  "your 
presence,  I  trust,  will  help  to  dispel  those  gloomy  thoughts 
which  have  robbed  me  so  long  of  my  energy." 

I  could  make  no  reply  to  these  touching  solicitations ; 
hence  I  yielded  to  Torrini's  wishes.  The  same  day  he 
gave  me  the  automaton  I  was  to  repair.  It  was  a  small 
harlequin,  supposed  to  leap  out  of  the  box  in  which  it  was 


78  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

confined,  perform  some  evolutions,  and  return  to  prison  at 
the  word  of  command ;  but  it  was  in  such  a  bad  condition, 
that  I  had  almost  to  make  a  new  one.  For  this  purpose 
I  arranged  a  small  workshop  in  the  carriage,  and,  two 
days  later,  I  began  my  first  automatic  labors,  while  pro- 
ceeding along  the  road  to  Angouleme. 

Never  shall  I  forget  the  charm  of  that  journey.  My 
health  was  perfectly  restored,  and  with  it  my  gaiety  and 
the  full  exercise  of  my  moral  faculties.  Our  enormous 
vehicle,  drawn  by  two  horses,  could  not  proceed  very 
rapidly  :  hence  we  only  covered  nine  or  ten  leagues  a  day, 
and  even  then  we  had  to  start  very  early.  Still,  in  spite 
of  our  slow  locomotion,  never  did  time  appear  to  me  to 
pass  so  quickly  or  more  agreeably.  Was  it  not  the  reali- 
zation of  all  my  dreams  ?  What  more  could  I  desire  ? 
Installed  in  a  small,  clean  room,  before  a  window  through 
which  the  smiling  panorama  of  Poitou  and  the  Angoumois 
was  unrolled  before  me,  I  found  myself  amidst  my  beloved 
tools,  working  at  the  construction  of  an  automaton,  in 
which  I  saw  the  first-born  of  a  numerous  progeny :  it  was 
impossible  for  me  to  imagine  anything  to  surpass  this. 

On  starting,  I  attacked  my  work  with  such  impetuosity, 
that  Torrini,  still  anxious  for  my  health,  insisted  that  I 
should  take  some  rest  after  every  meal.  The  same  clay, 
on  leaving  the  dinner-table,  he  handed  me  a  pack  of  cards, 
and  told  me  to  display  my  skill. 

Though  frightened  by  such  a  clear-sighted  spectator,  by 
a  judge  Avhose  skill  had  so  astonished  me,  I  collected  my 
courage,  and  began  by  one  of  those  effects  to  which  I  had 
given  the  name  of  "  flourishes."  It  was  a  brilliant  pre- 
lude, merely  intended  to  dazzle  the  eyes  while  showing  the 
extreme  agility  of  the  fingers.  Torrini  regarded  me  with 
indifference,  and  I  fancied  I  saw  a  smile  playing  round  his 


I  SHOW  MY  SKILL.  79 

lips.  I  was,  I  confess,  rather  disappointed,  but  he  hast- 
ened to  console  me. 

"I  really  admire  your  address,"  he  said,  "but  I  put 
little  faith  in  those  flourishes,  as  you  call  them.  I  find 
them  brilliant,  but  useless.  Besides,  I  am  curious  to  know 
if  you  use  them  at  the  beginning  or  end  of  your  card 
tricks." 

"  It  appears  to  me  logical  enough,"  I  replied,  "  to  place 
them  at  the  beginning,  as  they  are  only  intended  to  dazzle 
the  spectators." 

"  Well,  my  boy,"  he  went  on,  "we  differ  on  that  point. 
I  think  that  they  ought  not  to  be  placed  either  at  the  be- 
ginning or  end  of  any  card  tricks.  For  this  reason :  after 
such  a  brilliant  exhibition,  the  spectator  will  only  see  ia 
your  tricks  the  result  of  dexterity,  while,  by  affecting  a 
good  deal  of  simplicity,  you  will  prevent  your  audience 
trying  to  account  for  them.  Thus  you  produce  a  super- 
natural effect,  and  pass  for  a  real  sorcerer." 

I  quite  agreed  in  this  reasoning,  the  more  so  as  at  the 
beginning  of  my  experiments  I  had  always  considered 
nature  and  simplicity  the  bases  of  the  art  of  producing 
illusions,  and  I  had  laid  down  the  maxim  (only  applicable 
to  conjuring)  that  "you  must  first  gain  the  confidence  of 
the  person  you  wish  to  cheat."  Hence,  I  had  not  been 
consistent  with  my  principles,  and  humbly  confessed  it. 

It  is  certainly  a  singular  occupation  for  a  man  to  whom 
frankness  is  natural,  to  be  continually  engaged  in  conceal- 
ing his  thoughts,  and  seeking  the  best  way  of  making 
dupes.  But  may  it  not  also  be  urged  that  dissimulation 
and  falsehood  become  qualities  or  defects  according  to 
the  purpose  they  are  employed  for  ? 

Does  not  the  merchant,  for  instance,  regard  them  as 
precious  qualities  to  heighten  the  value  of  his  wares  ? 


80  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

Does  the  science  of  diplomacy  consist  in  stating  every- 
thing with  frankness  and  simplicity  ? 

Lastly,  is  not  fashion,  or  the  usages  of  decent  society, 
an  admirable  mixture  of  dissimulation  and  deceptions  ? 

As  for  the  art  I  cultivated,  what  would  it  be  without 
falsehood  ? 

Encouraged  by  Torrini,  I  regained  my  assurance.  I 
continued  practising  all  my  tricks,  and  showed  him  several 
new  inventions  of  my  own.  My  master  paid  me  some 
compliments,  to  which  he  added  sensible  advice. 

"I  recommend  you,"  he  said,  "to  moderate  your  viva- 
city. Instead  of  displaying  so  much  petulence  in  your 
movements,  affect,  on  the  contrary,  extreme  calmness,  and 
thus  you  will  avoid  those  clumsy  gesticulations  by  which 
conjurers  generally  fancy  they  distract  the  attention  of 
their  spectators,  when  they  only  succeed  in  wearying  them." 

My  professor  then,  adding  example  to  precept,  took 
the  cards  from  my  hands,  and  showed  me  in  the  same 
passes  I  had  performed  the  finesses  of  dissimulation  allied 
to  sleight-of-hand.  I  looked  on  with  sincere  admiration  : 
probably  flattered  by  the  impression  he  had  produced  on 
me,  Torrini  said : 

"As  we  are  now  on  the  subject  of  card  tricks,  I  will 
explain  to  you  my  game  of  piquet ;  but,  in  the  first  place, 
you  must  see  the  box  I  employ  in  its  performance." 

And  he  handed  me  a  small  box,  which  I  turned  over  a 
score  times  without  detecting  its  use. 

"  You  will  seek  in  vain,"  he  said  to  me ;  "a  few  words 
would  put  you  on  the  right  track,  but  I  prefer,  although 
the  remembrances  it  summons  up  are  very  painful,  to  tell 
you  how  this  box  fell  into  my  hands,  and  for  what  pur- 
pose it  was  originally  invented. 

"About  twenty  years  ago  I  was  living  at  Florence, 


THE  GAME  OF  PIQUET.  81 

where  I  practised  as  a  physician.  I  was  not  a  conjurer 
in  those  days  (he  added,  with  a  profound  sigh),  and  would 
to  Heaven  I  had  never  become  so ! 

"  Among  the  young  men  of  my  own  age,  I  was  particu- 
larly intimate  with  a  German  of  the  name  of  Zilbermann. 
Like  myself,  he  was  a  doctor,  and  equally  like  myself 
without  practice.  We  passed  the  greatest  part  of  our  lei- 
sure hours  together :  in  other  words,  we  were  almost  in- 
separable. Our  tastes  were  much  the  same,  save  on  one 
point,  where  we  differed  essentially.  Zilbermann  was 
passionately  fond  of  gambling,  while  I  felt  no  attraction 
for  play.  My  antipathy  for  cards  must  indeed  have  been 
excessive  to  prevent  me  yielding  to  the  force  of  contagion, 
for  my  friend  won  large  sums,  enabling  him  to  live  like  a 
great  gentleman,  while  I,  though  most  economical,  could 
not  help  incurring  debts.  However  this  may  be,  Zilber- 
mann and  I  lived  on  terms  of  fraternal  intimacy.  His 
purse  was  at  my  service,  but  I  used  it  discreetly,  as  I 
knew  not  when  I  should  be  able  to  return  what  I  borrowed. 
His  delicacy  and  generosity  towards  me  led  me  to  believe 
he  was  frank  and  loyal  with  all  the  world,  but  I  was  de- 
ceived. 

"  One  day,  when  I  had  only  left  him  a  few  hours  before, 
one  of  his  servants  came  hastily  to  summon  me,  stating 
that  his  master  had  been  dangerously  wounded,  and 
begged  to  see  me  at  once.  I  ran  off  directly,  and  found 
my  unhappy  friend  lying  on  his  couch  with  a  face  of 
deadly  pallor.  Overcoming  my  grief,  I  proceeded  to  offer 
him  succor.  Zilbermann  stopped  me,  motioned  me  to  sit 
down,  dismissed  his  attendants,  and,  after  being  assured 
we  were  alone,  begged  me  to  listen  to  him.  His  voice, 
weakened  by  the  pain  he  was  suffering,  scarcely  reached 
my  ear,  and  I  was  forced  to  stoop  down  over  him. 

P 


82  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

"'My  dear  Edmond,'  he  said  to  me,  'a  man  accused 
me  of  cheating.  I  challenged  him — we  fought  with  pis- 
tols—  and  his  bullet  is  lodged  in  my  chest.' 

"And  when  I  urged  Zilbermann  to  let  me  attend  to  him, 
he  added : 

"'It«is  useless,  my  friend.  I  feel  I  am  wounded  to 
death.  I  have  hardly  time  to  make  a  confession,  for  which 
I  claim  all  your  indulgent  friendship.  Learn,  then,'  he 
added,  offering  me  a  hand  damp  with  death,  '  I  was  not 
unjustly  insulted.  I  am  ashamed  to  confess  that,  for  a 
long  time,  I  have  lived  at  the  expense  of  my  dupes. 
Aided  by  a  fatal  skill,  and  still  more  by  an  instrument  I 
invented,  I  daily  cheated  at  play.' 

"'How  —  you,  Zilbermann?'  I  said,  withdrawing  my 
hand  sharply. 

'"Yes,  I !'  the  dying  man  replied,  seeming  by  a  glance 
to  supplicate  my  mercy. 

"'Edmond!'  he  added,  collecting  all  his  remaining 
strength,  '  in  the  name  of  our  old  friendship  do  not  aban- 
don me  !  For  the  honor  of  my  family,  let  not  this  proof 
of  my  infamy  be  found  here.  I  implore  you  to  remove 
this  instrument.'  And  he  showed  me  a  small  box  attached 
to  his  arm. 

"  I  unfastened  it,  and  like  yourself,  my  boy,  looked  at 
it,  without  understanding  its  use.  Revived  by  a  thought 
of  his  culpable  passion,  Zilbermann  added,  with  the  most 
lively  admiration, 

" '  And  yet  see  how  ingenious  it  was.  This  box  can  be 
attached  to  the  arm  without  perceptibly  increasing  its  size. 
Ready  packed  cards  are  put  in  it  beforehand ;  when  you 
are  going  to  cut,  you  put  your  hand  quietly  over  the  cards 
on  the  table,  so  as  to  cover  them  completely ;  then  you 
press  this  spring  by  resting  your  arm  gently  on  the  table. 


A  CHEAT  PUNISHED.  83 

The  prepared  cards  come  out  while  a  pair  of  pincers  seize 
the  other  pack  and  draw  it  up  into  the  box.  To-day,  for 
the  first  time,  the  instrument  failed  me — the  pincers  left 
a  card  on  the  table.  My  adversary ' 

"  Zilbermann  could  not  complete  the  phrase ;  he  had 
drawn  his  last  gasp. 

"  Zilbermann's  confessions  and  death  had  overpowered 
me,  and  I  hastened  fyom  his  room.  On  returning  home, 
I  began  to  reflect  on  what  had  happened,  and,  imagining 
that  my  known  intimacy  with  the  deceased  would  forbid 
my  stay  at  Florence,  I  determined  on  proceeding  to 
Naples.  I  took  with  me  the  unlucky  box,  though  not 
foreseeing  the  use  I  should  eventually  make  of  it ;  and 
for  a  long  time  I  forgot  its  existence.  However,  when  I 
turned  my  attention  to  conjuring,  I  thought  about  my 
piquet  trick,  and  the  fortunate  use  I  made  of  the  box 
gained  me  one  of  my  most  remarkable  triumphs  as  profes- 
sor of  sleight-of-hand."  , 

At  this  recollection,  Torrini's  eyes  sparkled  with  un- 
usual brilliancy,  and  prepared  me  for  an  interesting  anec- 
dote. He  proceeded  as  follows : 

"A  conjurer,  named  Comus,  had  invented  a  trick  at 
piquet,  which  he  performed,  I  must  allow,  with  extra- 
ordinary dexterity.  The  praise  he  acquired  in  conse- 
quence rendered  him  very  boastful ;  and  thus  he  never 
failed  to  announce  on  his  bills  that  he  alone  could  perform 
this  incomparable  trick,  thus  challenging  all  the  sleight- 
of-hand  professors  known.  I  had  some  degree  of  reputa- 
tion in  those  days,  and  Comus's  assertion  stung  me. 
Knowing  his  way  of  doing  the  trick,  and  my  own  to  be 
far  superior,  I  resolved  to  pick  up  the  glove  he  threw  to 
all  his  rivals. 


84  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

I  therefore  went  to  Geneva,  where  he  happened  to  be, 
and  offered  him  a  share  performance,  in  which  a  jury 
should  decided  on  our  relative  merits.  Comus  gladly  ac- 
cepted, and  on  the  day  fixed  an  immense  number  of  spec- 
tators assembled.  Being  my  senior,  my  opponent  com- 
menced. But,  in  order  that  you,  my  dear  Robert,  may 
also  act  as  jury,  I  will  first  explain  to  you  how  he  per- 
formed his  trick. 

"  Taking  a  new  pack  of  cards,  he  undid  the  cover,  had 
them  shuffled,  and  then  taking  them  in  his  hand,  he  man- 
aged to  get  them,  as  if  by  accident,  either  face  to  face  or 
back  to  back.  This  disarrangement  gave  him  time  to 
manipulate  the  cards,  while  appearing  to  be  merely  putting 
them  in  order ;  thus,  when  he  had  finished,  I  could  easily 
see  that  he  had  made  an  almost  imperceptible  crease  on 
certain  cards,  which  must  give  him  a  suit  of  eight  cards,  a 
king,  and  fourteen  in  aces. 

"  This  doije,  Comus  handed  the  cards  to  his  adversary, 
begging  him  to  shuffle  them  again ;  and,  during  this  time, 
he  had  his  eyes  bandaged.  This  was  a  useless  precaution, 
let  me  observe  en  passant,  for  whatever  care  may  be  taken 
to  deprive  a  person  of  sight  in  this  way,  the  projection  of 
the  nose  always  leaves  a  vacuum  sufficient  to  see  clearly. 

"  When  the  other  player  had  finished,  Comus  again 
took  up  the  cards  as  if  to  shuffle  them ;  but  you  can  easily 
understand  that  he  only  arranged  them  so  that  the  cards 
he  had  marked  must  fall  to  him  in  the  deal.  The  saute  de 
coupe,  as  you  are  aware,  neutralises  the  effect  of  cutting; 
hence  Comus  was  certain  of  success.  In  fact,  matters 
ended  so  on  this  occasion,  and  hearty  applause  greeted 
my  rival's  victory. 

"  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  a  great  number  of  these 
bravos  emanated  from  his  friends  and  accomplices,  for 


A  DUEL  WITH  CARDS.  85 

when  I  came  forward  in  my  turn  to  perform  my  trick,  a 
murmur  of  dissatisfaction  greeted  my  appearance  on  the 
stage.  The  ill-will  of  the  spectators  was  so  manifest  that 
it  would  have  intimidated  me,  had  I  not  then  been  quite 
steeled  against  all  applause  or  dissatisfaction  on  the  part 
of  the  public. 

"  The  audience  were  far  from  suspecting  the  surprise  I 
had  prepared  for  them,  for  instead  of  asking  any  one  to 
come  from  the  house  as  my  playman,  I  requested  Comus 
himself  to  play  with  me.  At  this  request  I  saw  the  people 
begin  to  look  at  each  other ;  but  what  were  the  exclama- 
tions when,  after  asking  my  rival  to  bandage  my  eyes  and 
tie  my  hands,  I  not  only  declined  to  touch  the  cards,  but 
left  him  at  liberty,  after  stating  in  what  suit  he  would  be 
repiqued,  to  deal  the  cards  by  twos  or  threes,  and  choose 
the  hand  he  preferred  ! 

"  I  had  a  pack  ready  prepared  in  my  box,  and  I  was 
sure  of  my  instrument  —  need  I  say  that  I  gained  the 
game? 

"  Owing  to  my  secret  arrangements,  my  mode  of  acting 
was  so  simple,  that  it  was  impossible  to  find  out  how  I  did 
it,  while  Comus's  preliminary  manipulations  led  to  the 
supposition  that  his  dexterity  gained  the  game.  I  was 
declared  victor  unanimously.  Shouts  greeted  this  deci- 
sion ;  and  even  Comus's  own  friends,  deserting  my  rival, 
came  to  offer  me  a  pretty  gold  pin,  surmounted  by  a  cup, 
the  symbol  of  my  profession.  This  pin,  as  one  of  the 
audience  told  me,  had  been  ordered  by  poor  Comus,  who 
felt  certain  of  winning  it  back. 

"I  may  (Torrini  added)  fairly  boast  of  this  victory; 
for,  though  Zilbermann  left  me  the  box,  he  had  not  taught 
me  the  game  of  piquet,  which  I  invented  myself.  Was 
not  this  trick,  I  ask  you,  far  superior  to  Comus's,  which, 


86  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

it  is  true,  deceived  the  multitude,  but  the  poorest  sleight- 
of-hand  performer  could  easily  detect?" 

Torrini  was  extremely  proud  of  his  inventive  skill ;  but 
this,  I  believe,  was  his  sole  defect,  and  he  made  up  for  it 
by  his  readiness  to  praise  other  persons.  His  story 
ended,  I  complimented  him  most  sincerely,  not  only  on 
his  invention,  but  on  the  victory  he  had  gained  over 
Comus.v 

Travelling  in  this  way,  and  stopping  at  times  to  per- 
form in  towns  where  we  might  hope  to  clear  a  profit,  we 
passed  through  Limoges,  and  found  ourselves  on  the  road 
leading  from  that  town  to  Clermont.  Torrini  proposed  to 
give  some  performances  in  the  chief  town  of  the  Puy-de- 
Dome,  after  which  he  intended  returning  straight  to  Italy, 
whose  gentle  climate  and  quaint  ovations  he  regretted. 

I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  part  from  him  there.  We 
had  been  travelling  together  about  two  months ;  this  was 
about  the  time  I  had  fixed  for  the  repair  of  the  automaton, 
and  my  work  was  almost  concluded.  On  the  other  hand, 
I  had  a  right  to  ask  my  dismissal,  with  no  fear  of  being 
considered  ungrateful.  Torrini's  health  had  become  as 
good  as  we  might  ever  expect,  and  I  had  given  up  to  him 
all  the  time  I  could  reasonably  spare. 

Still  I  did  not  like  to  speak  about  our  separation,  for 
the  professor,  delighted  with  my  progress  and  skill,  could 
not  conceive  I  could  have  any  other  wish  but  to  travel 
•with  him,  and  eventually  become  his  successor.  This 
position  would  certainly  have  suited  me  in  many  respects, 
for,  as  I  have  said,  my  vocation  was  irrevocably  fixed. 
But,  whether  new  instincts  were  kindled  in  me,  or  that 
the  intimacy  I  lived  in  with  Torrini  had  opened  my  eyes 
to  the  unpleasantness  of  such  a  mode  of  life,  I  aimed  at 
something  higher  than  being  his  successor. 


A  SAD  ACCIDENT.  87 

I  had  therefore  made  up  my  mind  to  leave  him ;  but 
painful  circumstances  deferred  the  moment  of  separation. 

We  had  just  arrived  at  Aubusson,  a  town  celebrated  for 
its  numerous  carpet  factories.  Torrini  and  his  servant 
were  on  the  box  of  the  carriage:  I  was  at  work.  We 
were  going  down  a  hill,  and  Antonio  was  pulling  at  the 
rope  which  dragged  our  wheels,  when,  suddenly,  I  heard 
something  break,  and  the  carriage  started  off  at  full 
speed.  The  slightest  obstacles  produced  a  tremendous 
shock,  and  every  moment  I  expected  the  carriage  to  go 
over. 

Trembling,  and  hardly  able  to  breathe,  I  clung  to  my 
bench  as  a  plank  of  safety,  and  with  my  eyes  closed, 
awaited  the  death  that  appeared  inevitable.  For  a  mo- 
ment we  were  on  the  point  of  escaping  the  catastrophe. 
Our  powerful  horses,  skillfully  guided  by  Antonio,  had 
kept  up  bravely  during  this  rapid  descent,  and  we  had 
passed  the  first  houses  in  Aubusson,  when,  as  misfortune 
willed  it,  an  enormous  hay-cart  emerged  from  a  side 
street,  and  barred  our  passage.  The  driver  did  not  see 
the  danger  till  it  was  too  late  to  avoid  it.  The  accident 
was  inevitable,  the  collision  frightful. 

I  was  momentarily  stunned  by  the  pain,  but  as  soon  as 
I  recovered  I  stepped  out  of  the  carriage  to  look  after  my 
comrades.  I  found  Antonio  covered  with  harmless  contu- 
sions, supporting  Torrini,  whose  arm  was  dislocated,  and 
leg  broken.  Our  two  horses  lay  dead  in  the  road  ;  as  for 
the  carriage,  only  the  body  remained  intact :  all  the  rest 
was  knocked  to  atoms. 

A  doctor,  hurriedly  sent  for,  reached  an  adjoining  inn  to 
which  we  had  been  directed,  almost  as  soon  as  ourselves. 
And  here  I  could  not  refrain  from  admiring  Torrini's 
magnanimity,  when  he  insisted  on  our  being  looked  to 


88  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

first ;  and,  in  spite  of  our  entreaties,  we  could  not  alter 
his  determination.  Antonio  and  myself  were  soon  all 
right  again,  but  this  was  not  the  case  with  Torrini :  he 
•was  obliged  to  undergo  all  the  operations  and  different 
phases  of  a  broken  leg. 

Although  he  treated  the  accident  so  coolly,  it  might 
produce  terrible  consequences  for  him :  the  repair  of  the 
carriage,  the  physician,  our  forced  stay  at  an  inn,  would 
cost  him  very  dear.  Could  he  continue  his  performances 
—  replace  his  horses?  This  idea  caused  Antonio  and 
myself  cruel  anxiety  :  Torrini  alone  did  not  despair  of  the 
future. 

"No  matter,"  he  said,  with  entire  confidence  in  him- 
self; "once  I  have  recovered,  all  will  go  on  well.  Why 
ought  a  courageous  and  healthy  man  to  fear  aught  ?  Help 
yourself,  and  Heaven  will  help  you  !  our  good  La  Fontaine 
wrote.  Well,  we  will  all,  then,  help  ourselves,  and  no 
doubt  we  shall  escape  from  this  dilemma." 

In  order  to  give  my  company  to  this  excellent  man,  and 
distract  his  thoughts,  I  put  up  my  bench  by  his  bedside, 
and,  while  working,  continued  the  conversations  which 
had  been  so  unfortunately  interrupted. 

The  day  at  length  arrived  when  I  gave  the  last  touch 
to  the  automaton,  and  made  it  perform  before  Torrini, 
who  appeared  delighted  with  it.  Had  our  patient  been 
less  unfortunate,  I  should  have  now  quitted  him ;  but 
could  I  leave  the  man  who  had  saved  my  life  in  this  way  ? 
Besides,  another  thought  had  occurred  to  me.  Although 
Torrini  told  us  nothing  of  his  pecuniary  position,  Antonio 
and  I'  fancied  he  was  greatly  embarrassed.  Was  it  not 
my  duty  to  try  and  relieve  him,  were  it  in  my  power  ?  I 
imparted  to  Antonio  a  scheme  he  approved,  though  beg- 
ging me  to  defer  it  a  little  longer,  till. we  found  whether 
our  suppositions  were  correct. 


TORRINI'S  HISTORY.  89 

Still  the  days  were  very  long  by  my  patient's  side,  for 
my  mechanical  job  was  finished,  and  sleight-of-hand  was 
a  subject  of  conversation  long  exhausted.  One  day,  when 
Torrini  and  I  were  seeking  some  topic  to  talk  about,  I 
remembered  his  promise  to  tell  me  his  life  history,  and 
reminded  him  of  it. 

At  this  request  Torrini  sighed.     "Ah  !"  he  said,  "if  I 

could  suppress  many  sad  incidents  in  my  story,  I  should 

delight  to  read  you  a  few  pleasant  pages  from  an  artist's 

life.     However,  it  may  be,"  he  added,  "I  have  contracted 

.a  debt  with  you  which  I  must  pay. 

"  Do  not  expect  me  to  give  you  a  journal  of  my  life ; 
that  would  be  tedious  both  to  you  and  to  myself.  I  will 
only  quote  some  interesting  episodes,  and  describe  to  you 
some  tricks  you  possibly  have  not  heard  of.  This  will  be 
the  most  amusing  portion  of  my  story,"  Torrini  added, 
with  a  smile,  "  for  whatever  may  be  your  present  resolu- 
tions about  following  my  art,  I  need  not  be  a  Nostradamus 
to  predict  that  you  will  devote  yourself  to  it  some  day, 
and  gain  immense  success.  What  you  are  about  to  hear, 
my  friend,  will  show  you  that  it  is  not  every  man  who  can 
eay,  with  the  popular  proverb,  '  Spring,  I  will  not  drink 
thy  water !'  " 


90  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Torrini  relates  his  Life — Treachery  of  Chevalier  Pinetti — A  Conjurer 
through  Malice — A  Race  between  two  Magicians — Death  of  Pinetti 
— Exhibits  before  Pius  VII. — The  Cardinal's  Chronometer — Twelve 
Hundred  Francs  spent  on  a  Trick — Antonio  and  Antonia  —  The  most 
bitter  of  Mystifications  —  Constantinople. 

MY  name  is  Edmond  de  Grisy,  and  that  of  Torrini  be- 
longs to  Antonio,  my  brother-in-law.  That  worthy  young 
man,  whom  you  wrongfully  took  for  my  servant,  has  been 
good  enough  to  follow  me  in  my  evil  fortune,  and  help  me 
in  my  performances.  You  must  have  seen,  though,  by 
the  way  I  treat  him,  that  while  leaving  to  him  the  toil 
better  suited  for  his  age  than  mine,  I  regard  him  as  my 
equal,  and  consider  him  my  best  friend  —  at  least  I  should 
have  called  him  so  before  knowing  you — but  now,  one  of 
my  best  friends. 

My  father,  the  Count  de  Grisy,  resided  on  his  property 
in  Languedoc,  the  sole  resource  left  him  of  a  once  large 
fortune,  which  circumstances  had  sadly  diminished.  De- 
voted to  Louis  XVI.,  and  one  of  his  most  faithful  ser- 
vants, on  the  day  of  danger  he  offered  his  body  as  a  ram- 
part for  his  sovereign,  and  was  killed  at  the  storming  of 
the  Tuilleries  on  the  18th  of  August. 

I  was  at  that  time  in  Paris,  and,  profiting  by  the  dis- 
orders in  the  capital,  I  was  enabled  to  pass  the  barriers, 
and  reach  our  small  family  domain.  There  I  dug  up  a 
hundred  louis  my  father  had  concealed  for  any  unforseen 


A  NOBLE  CONJURER.  91 

accident ;  to  this  money  I  added  some  jewels  left  by  my 
mother,  and  with  these  modest  resources  proceeded  to 
Florence. 

The  value  of  my  entire  property  was  5000  francs.  On 
the  interest  of  this  sum  I  could  not  live ;  hence  I  was 
obliged  to  seek  some  profession  to  support  me.  I  soon 
formed  my  decision :  taking  advantage  of  the  excellent 
education  I  had  received,  I  devoted  myself  to  the  study 
of  medicine.  Four  years  later  I  took  my  degree  as  doc- 
tor ;  I  was  then  twenty- seven. 

I  established  myself  at  Florence,  where  I  hoped  to  form 
a  connexion.  Unfortunately  for  me,  in  this  town,  with 
its  gentle  climate  and  reinvigorating  sun,  the  number  of 
physicians  was  greater  than  that  of  the  patients,  and  my 
new  profession  was  a  perfect  sinecure. 

I  have  told  you  how  Zilbermann's  death  compelled  me 
to  quit  the  capital  of  Tuscany,  and  I  established  myself 
at  Naples.  More  fortunate  than  at  Florence,  immediately 
on  my  arrival  I  was  called  in  to  a  patient  whose  illness 
had  defied  the  skill  of  the  first  Italian  physicians.  He 
was  a  young  man,  of  very  high  family;  his  recovery 
gained  me  great  renown,  and  I  soon  took  my  place  among 
the  best  Neapolitan  physicians.  This  success,  and  the 
fashion  I  gained  by  it,  opened  to  me  the  doors  of  all  the 
salons,  and  my  name,  aided  by  the  manners  of  a  gentle- 
man brought  up  at  the  court  of  Louis  XVI.,  rendered  mo 
indispensable  at  all  soire'es  and  festivals. 

What  a  happy  and  calm  existence  I  might  still  be  en- 
joying had  not  destiny,  jealous  of  my  happiness,  destroy- 
ed my  future  prospects  of  felicity  by  hurling  me  into  the 
vivid  and  ardent  emotions  of  an  artistic  life ! 

The  carnival  of  179G  had  just  commenced.  At  that 
time  one  man  was  the  popular  idol  of  the  Italians ;  no- 


92  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

thing  was  spoken  of  but  the  marvels  achieved  by  Che- 
valier Pinetti.  This  celebrated  conjurer  came  to  Naples, 
and  the  whole  city  attended  his  interesting  performances. 
As  I  was  madly  attached  to  this  sort  of  spectacle,  I  spent 
every  evening  at  the  theatre,  trying  to  guess  the  chevalier's 
tricks,  and  unfortunately  for  myself,  I  discovered  the  key 
to  many  of  them. 

But  I  did  not  stop  here ;  I  also  wished  to  perform  them 
before  a  few  friends :  success  stimulated  me,  and  made  me 
desirous  of  increasing  my  repertoire.  At  length  I  could 
perform  all  Pinetti's  tricks.  The  chevalier  was  eclipsed; 
nothing  was  spoken  of  but  my  skill  and  address ;  and  every 
one  besought  a  performance  from  me.  But  I  did  not  ac- 
cede to  all  these  requests,  for  I  was  chary  in  displaying 
my  talent,  hoping  thus  to  increase  its  value. 

My  privileged  spectators  were  only  the  more  enthu- 
siastic, and  asserted  that  I  equalled  Pinetti,  if  I  did  not 
surpass  him. 

The  public  is  so  happy,  my  dear  lad  (Torrini  said,  with 
a  look  of  melancholy  regret),  when  it  can  oppose  some 
rising  talent  to  any  artist  in  renown.  It  seems  as  if  this 
sovereign  dispenser  of  fashion  and  favor  takes  a  malicious 
pleasure  in  reminding  the  man  it  adores  that  every  reputa- 
tion is  fragile,  and  that  the  idol  of  to-day  may  be  shat- 
tered to-morrow. 

My  vanity  forebade  my  thinking  of  this.  I  believed  in 
the  sincerity  of  the  praise  bestowed  on  me ;  and  I,  the 
earnest  student,  the  clever  doctor,  was  proud  of  my  futile 
success. 

Pinetti,  far  from  seeming  jealous  of  my  triumph,  evinc- 
ed a  desire  to  form  my  acquaintance,  and  even  came  to 
call  upon  me.  He  might  have  been  about  forty-six  years 
of  age  at  this  time,  but  his  elegant  toilet  made  him  ap- 


A  FALSE  FRIEND.  93 

pear  much  younger.  There  was  something  distinguished 
in  his  face,  though  the  features  were  common-place  and 
irregular,  and  his  manners  were  excellent.  Still,  by  an 
inexplicable  want  of  judgment,  he  used,  when  perform- 
ing, to  wear  a  brilliant  general's  uniform,  on  which  nu- 
merous decorations  glistened. 

This  peculiarity,  which  bordered  too  much  on  the  char- 
latan, ought  to  have  enlightened  me  as  to  the  man's  moral 
value ;  but  my  passion  for  conjuring  rendered  me  blind. 
We  met  like  old  friends,  and  our  intimacy  was  almost  in- 
stantaneous. Pinetti  was  most  affable,  talked  about  his 
secrets  unreservedly,  and  even  offered  to  take  me  to  the 
theatre  and  show  me  his  stage  arrangements.  I  accepted 
the  offer  with  the  greatest  readiness,  and  we  entered  his 
richly  ornamented  carriage. 

From  that  moment  the  chevalier  treated  me  with  the 
utmost  familiarity.  In  any  other  this  would  have  wound- 
ed my  pride,  or  at  least  aroused  my  suspicion,  and  I  should 
have  been  on  my  guard.  On  the  contrary,  I  was  en- 
enchanted  with  Pinetti,  for,  by  his  unbounded  luxury,  he 
had  gained  such  consideration,  that  the  noblest  young 
gentlemen  in  the  city  were  proud  of  his  friendship.  Why, 
then,  should  I  be  more  haughty  than  they  ?  In  a  few 
days  we  had  become  almost  inseparable  friends,  only  part- 
ing at  the  time  of  our  mutual  performances. 

One  evening,  after  one  of  my  private  exhibitions,  I 
proceeded  to  sup  as  usual  with  Pinetti,  my  head  still  a-glow 
with  the  compliments  I  had  received.  I  found  him  alone. 
On  seeing  me  enter,  the  chevalier  ran  up  to  me,  embraced 
me  affectionately,  and  asked  how  my  performance,  had 
gone  off.  I  did  not  hide  my  success  from  him. 

"  Ah  !  my  friend,"  he  said,  "  that  does  not  surprise  me ; 
you  are  incomparable :  indeed,  I  should  not  be  paying  you 


94  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

a  forced  compliment  if  I  said  you  might  challenge  the 
most  skillful  among  us." 

And  during  the  whole  supper,  despite  my  efforts  to  stop 
him,  he  would  only  speak  of  my  skilland  address.  Though  I 
tried  to  decline  his  compliments,  the  chevalier  seemed  so 
sincere,  that  I  ended  by  accepting  them.  In  fact,  I  was 
so  convinced  of  their  truth,  that  I  began  to  pay  myself 
some  compliments ;  for  how  could  I  believe  it  was  all  a 
trick  to  make  a  fool  of  me  ?  When  Pinetti  saw  I  had  ar- 
rived at  this  stage,  and  that  the  champagne  had  turned  my 
head,  he  said: 

"Do  you  know,  my  dear  count,  that  you  could  offer  the 
Neapolitans  a  surprise  to-morrow,  worth  its  weight  in  gold 
for  the  poor?" 

"How?"  I  asked. 

"  Suppose,  my  dear  friend,  you  take  my  place  in  a  per- 
formance I  am  going  to  give  on  behalf  of  the  poor.  We 
will  put  your  name  in  the  bills  instead  of  mine,  and  it  will 
be  regarded  as  a  noble  and  honorable  understanding  be- 
tween two  artists.  One  repesentation  the  less  will  not  in- 
jure my  reputation,  while  it  will  cover  you  with  glory ;  I 
shall  thus  have  the  double  satisfaction  of  helping  the  un- 
fortunate, and  displaying  my  best  friend's  talent  to  ad- 
vantage." 

This  proposal  so  startled  me,  that  I  rose  from  the  table, 
as  if  fearing  to  hear  more.  But  Pinetti  was  gifted  with 
such  persuasive  eloquence,  and  he  seemed  to  promise  him- 
self so  much  pleasure  from  my  future  triumph,  that  at 
length  I  ended  by  yielding  all  he  asked. 

"  That  is  right,"  Pinetti  said  to  me ;  "  dismiss  such  want 
of  confidence  in  yourself,  which  could  be  hardly  pardoned 
in  a  schoolboy.  Now,  matters  settled  so  far,  we  have  no 
time  to  lose.  Let  us  draw  up  the  bill :  choose  among  my 


A  RASH  PROMISE.  95 

tricks  those  you  prefer,  and,  as  for  the  preparations  trust 
to  me :  I  will  take  care  all  is  in  order." 

The  greater  number  of  Pinctti's  tricks  were  performed 
by  the  help  of  accomplices,  who  brought  to  the  theatre 
various  objects  of  which  the  conjurer  had  doubles.  This 
singularly  facilitated  the  pretended  marvels,  and  I  had  no 
doubt  of  success. 

We  soon  drew  up  the  bill,  at  the  top  of  which  I  wrote 
my  name  with  great  emotion ;  then  came  a  list  of  the 
tricks  I  proposed  to  do.  Just  as  we  finished  this,  the 
usual  guests  entered  the  room,  offering  excuses  more  or 
less  specious  to  explain  their  delay.  Still  their  tardy  ap- 
pearance aroused  no  suspicion  in  my  mind ;  for  Pinetti's 
was  open  all  hours  of  the  night,  and  his  door  was  only 
closed  from  daybreak  till  two  P.  M.,  the  time  he  devoted  to 
sleep  and  dress. 

As  soon  as  the  new  arrivers  heard  of  my  resolution, 
they  noisily  congratulated  me,  and  promised  to  support 
me  by  their  hearty  applause.  Not  that  I  wanted  it,  they 
added,  for  my  performance  would  create  an  extraordinary 
enthusiasm.  Pinetti  gave  one  of  his  servants  the  bill, 
telling  him  to  order  the  printer  to  have  it  posted  all  over 
the  city  before  daybreak. 

An  impulse  made  me  stretch  out  my  hand  to  take  back 
the  paper,  but  Pinetti  checked  me  with  a  laugh. 

"  Come,  my  dear  friend,"  he  said,  "  do  not  try  to  fly  an 
assured  triumph,  and  to-morrow  at  this  hour  we  shall  all 
be  toasting  your  success." 

All  the  visitors  joined  in  chorus,  and  they  drank  in  an- 
ticipation of  my  approaching  triumph.  A  few  glasses  of 
champagne  dispelled  my  hesitation  and  scruples. 

I  returned  home  very  late,  and  went  to  bed  without 
thinking  of  what  had  occurred.  At  two  the  next  afternoon 


96  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

I  was  still  asleep,  when  I  was  aroused  by  Pinetti  s  voice. 

"Get  up,  Edmond!"  lie  shouted  through  the  door. 
"  Up,  man  !  we  have  no  time  to  lose :  the  great  day  has 
arrived.  Open  the  door :  I  have  a  thousand  things  to  say 
to  you." 

I  hastened  to  open. 

"Ah  !  my  dear  count,"  he  said,  "  allow  me  to  congratu- 
late you  on  your  good  fortune.  Your  name  is  in  every 
mouth :  the  whole  theatre  is  taken ;  the  last  tickets  are 
being  positively  fought  for  ;  the  king  and  the  royal  family 
will  do  you  the  honor  of  being  present ;  we  have  just  been 
informed  of  the  fact." 

At  these  words  the  whole  affair  flashed  across  my  mind : 
a  cold  perspiration  stood  on  my  forehead :  the  terror  that 
assails  every  novice  rendered  me  dizzy.  In  my  confusion 
I  sat  down  on  the  foot  of  my  bod. 

"  Do  not  reckon  on  me,  chevalier,"  I  said,  with  firm- 
ness. "  Whatever  may  happen,  I  will  not  perform." 

"•What!  you  will  not  perform?"  my  perfidious  friend 
said,  affecting  the  most  perfect  tranquility  ;  "  but  my  good 
fellow,  you  cannot  be  thinking  of  what  you  are  saying. 
There  is  no  possibility  of  drawing  back :  the  bills  are  put 
up,  and  it  is  your  duty  to  keep  the  engagement  you  have 
made.  Besides,  you  should  remember  this  performance  is 
for  the  poor,  who  have  already  begun  to  bless  you,  and 
you  cannot  abandon  them,  while  a  refusal  would  be  an  in- 
sult to  the  king.  Come,  come,"  he  added,  "  summon  up 
your  courage,  my  dear  friend.  Meet  me  at  the  theatre  at 
four :  we  will  have  a  rehearsal,  which  I  consider  useless, 
but  it  may  restore  your  pluck.  Till  then,  good-by  !" 

So  soon  as  I  was  left  to  myself,  I  remained  for  nearly 
an  hour  absorbed  in  thought,  trying  in  vain  to  elude  the 
performance.  An  insurmountable  barrier  ever  prevented 


\  FIRST  PUBLIC  PERFORMANCE.  97 

escape:  the  king,  the  poor,  the  entire  city — all,  in  short, 
rendered  it  an  imperious  duty  to  keep  my  rash  promise. 
At  length  I  began  to  think  there  was  no  serious  difficulty 
about  the  performance,  for  a  great  number  of  the  tricks, 
as  I  have  already  said,  being  performed  by  the  help  of 
friends,  these  took  the  chief  labor  on  themselves.  En- 
couraged by  this  idea,  I  gradually  regained  my  courage, 
and  at  four  o'clock  joined  Pinetti  at  the  theatre  with  a 
degree  of  assurance  that  surprised  even  him. 

As  the  performance  did  not  begin  till  eight,  I  had  ample 
time  to  make  my  preparations,  and  I  employed  it  so  well, 
that,  when  the  moment  arrived  to  appear  on  the  stage,  my 
foolish  fears  were  coirnletely  dissipated,  and  I  presented 
myself  before  the  public  with  sufficient  coolness  for  a 
novice. 

The  theatre  was  crowded.  The  king  and  his  family, 
seated  in  a  stage  box,  appeared  to  regard  me  with  sympa- 
thizing glances ;  for  his  majesty  was  probably  aware  of 
my  being  a  French  e'migre'. 

I  boldly  commenced  my  performance  with  a  trick  which 
must  eminently  excite  the  imagination  of  the  spectators. 
I  had  to  borrow  a  ring,  place  it  in  a  pistol,  and  fire  through 
a  window  opening  from  the  stage  into  the  sea  that  bathed 
the  theatre-walls.  This  done,  I  would  open  a  box,  pre- 
viously examined,  closed,  and  sealed  by  the  audience,  and 
in  it  would  be  found  an  enormous  fish  bearing  .the  ring  in 
its  mouth. 

Full  of  confidence  in  the  success  of  the  trick,  I  pro- 
ceeded towards  the  pit  to  borrow  a  ring.  Of  twenty 
offered  me  I  selected  one  belonging  to  an  accomplice  of 
Pinetti's,  and  begged  him  to  place  it  with  his  own  hands 
in  the  barrel  of  the  pistol  I  handed  to  him.  Pinetti  had 
told  me  that  his  friend  would  use  for  this  purpose  a  copper 

G 


98  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

ring,  which  would  be  sacrificed,  and  that  I  should  return 
him  a  gold  one  in  its  place. 

The  spectator  obeyed  me.  I  then  opened  the  window 
and  fired  the  pistol.  Like  the  soldier  on  the  battle-field, 
the  smell  of  powder  excited  me ;  I  felt  full  of  fun  and 
gaiety,  and  ventured  on  a  few  jests,  which  pleased  the  au- 
dience. Taking  advantage  of  the  general  hilarity,  I 
seized  my  magic  wand  and  traced  my  cabalistic  circles 
round  the  box.  At  length  I  broke  the  seals  and  triumph- 
antly produced  the  fish,  which  I  carried  to  the  owner  of 
the  ring,  that  he  might  take  it  out  of  the  fish's  mouth. 

If  the  accomplice  play  his  part  well,  he  must  evince  the 
greatest  stupefaction,  and,  indeed,  the  gentleman,  on  re- 
ceiving the  ring,  began  looking  around  him,  and  his  face 
grew  very  long.  Proud  of  my  success,  I  went  back  on 
the  stage  and  bowed  in  reply  to  the  applause  I  received. 
Ah,  my  dear  Robert!  this  triumph  lasted  but  a  short 
time,  and  became  to  me  the  prelude  of  a  terrible  mystifi- 
cation. 

I  was  proceeding  to  another  trick,  when  I  saw  my  spec- 
tator gesticulating  to  his  neighbors,  and  then  turning  to 
me  as  if  wishing  to  address  me.  I  fancied  he  was  going 
on  with  the  farce  to  dispel  any  suspicion  of  collusion ;  still 
I  thought  he  went  too  far.  What  was  my  surprise,  then, 
when  the  man  rose  and  said  : 

"  Excuse  me,  sir,  but  it  seems  as  if  your  trick  is  not 
over,  since  you  have  given  me  a  copper  ring  set  with  paste 
instead  of  my  diamond  solitaire." 

As  a  mistake  seemed  to  me  impossible,  I  turned  on  my 
heel  and  commenced  my  preparations  for  the  next  trick. 

"  Sir,"  my  obstinate  spectator  again  took  the  word, 
"  will  you  have  the  goodness  to  reply  to  my  question  ?  If 
the  end  of  your  trick  be  a  jest,  I  acknowledge  it  as  such, 


A  BITTER  DECEPTION.  99 

and  you  can  return  me  my  ring  presently.  If  it  be  not 
so,  I  cannot  accept  the  horrible  substitute  you  have  handed 
me." 

Every  one  was  silent :  none  knew  the  meaning  of  this 
protest,  though  many  fancied  it  was  on  ordinary  mystifi- 
cation, which  would  end  in  still  greater  glory  for  the  per- 
former. The  claimant,  the  public,  and  myself  found  our- 
selves in  the  same  state  of  uncertainty ;  it  was  an  enigma 
which  I  alone  could  solve  —  and  I  did  not  know  the  word. 

Hoping,  however,  to  escape  from  a  position  as  critical 
as  it  was  ridiculous,  I  walked  up  to  my  pitiless  creditor, 
and,  on  looking  at  the  ring  I  had  given  him,  I  was  startled 
at  finding  it  was  really  coarsely  gilt  copper.  "  Could  the 
spectator  to  whom  I  applied  have  been  no  accomplice  ?"  I 
thought.  "Could  Pinetti  desire  to  betray  me?"  This 
supposition  appeared  to  me  so  hateful  that  I  rejected  it, 
preferring  to  attribute  the  fatal  mistake  to  chance.  But 
what  should  I  do  or  say  ?  My  head  was  all  on  fire. 

In  my  despair,  I  was  about  to  offer  the  public  some  ex- 
planation of  this  untoward  accident,  when  an  inspiration 
temporarily  relieved  me  from  my  embarrassment. 

"  Do  you  still  believe,  sir,"  I  said  to  the  plaintiff,  after 
assuming  an  extreme  degree  of  calmness,  "  that  your  ring 
has  been  changed  into  copper  while  passing  through  my 
hands?" 

fl  Yes,  sir ;  and,  besides,  the  one  you  have  returned  me 
does  not  in  the  slightest  degree  resemble  mine  in  shape." 

"Very  good,  sir,"  I  continued,  boldly;  "that  is  the 
real  marvel  of  the  trick ;  that  ring  will  insensibly  assume 
its  old  form  on  your  finger,  and  by  to-morrow  morning 
you  will  see  it  is  the  one  you  lent  me.  That  is  what  we 
term  in  the  language  of  the  cabala  the  *  imperceptible 
transformation.'  " 


100  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

This  reply  gained  me  time.  I  intended  to  see  the 
claimant  when  the  performance  was  over,  pay  him  the 
price  of  the  ring,  whatever  it  might  be,  and  beg  him  to 
keep  my  secret.  After  this  happy  escape  I  took  up  a 
pack  of  cards  and  continued  my  performance,  and  as  the 
accomplices  had  nothing  to  do  in  this  trick,  I  felt  sure  of 
success.  Approaching  the  royal  box,  I  begged  his  majesty 
to  do  me  the  honor  of  drawing  a  card.  He  did  so  very 
affably ;  but  to  my  horror,  the  king  had  no  sooner  looked 
at  the  card  he  had  drawn,  than  he  threw  it  angrily  on  the 
stage,  with  marks  of  most  profound  dissatisfaction. 

The  blow  dealt  me  this  time  was  too  direct  for  me  to 
attempt  parrying  it  or  turning  it  aside.  But  I  was  anx- 
ious to  know  the  meaning  of  such  a  humiliating  affront, 
so  I  picked  up  the  card.  Imagine,  my  dear  boy,  the  full 
extent  of  my  despair  when  I  read  a  coarse  insult  to  his 
majesty,  written  in  a  hand  I  could  not  mistake.  I  at- 
tempted to  stammer  some  excuse,  but  by  a  gesture  the 
king  disdainfully  commanded  silence. 

Oh,  I  cannot  describe  to  you  all  that  then  passed  in  my 
mind,  for  a  dizziness  attacked  my  brain,  and  I  felt  as  if  I 
were  going  mad. 

I  had,  at  length,  obtained  a  proof  of  Pinetti's  perfidy. 
He  had  determined  on  covering  me  with  disgrace  and  ridi- 
cule, and  I  had  fallen  into  the  infamous  snare  he  had  so 
treacherously  laid  for  me.  This  idea  restored  my  wild 
energy :  I  was  seized  by  a  ferocious  desire  for  revenge, 
and  I  rushed  to  the  side  scene,  where  my  enemy  should  be 
stationed.  I  meant  to  seize  him  by  the  collar,  drag  him 
on  the  stage  like  a  malefactor,  and  force  him  to  demand 
pardon. 

But  the  juggler  was  no  longer  there.  I  ran  in  every 
direction  like  a  maniac,  but  wherever  I  might  turn,  cries, 


AN  INSULT  TO  ROYALTY.  101 

hisses,  and  shouts  pursued  me,  and  distracted  my  brain. 
At  length,  bowed  -down  by  the  -weight  of  such  intense 
emotions,  I  fainted. 

For  a  week  I  remained  in  a  raging  fever,  incessantly 
yelling  for  revenge  on  Pinetti.  And  I  did  not  know  all 
then. 

I  learned  afterwards  that  this  unworthy  man,  this  false 
friend,  had  emerged  from  his  hiding-place  on  my  fainting. 
He  had  gone  on  the  stage  at  the  request  of  some  of  his 
accomplices,  and  continued  the  performance,  to  the  great 
satisfaction  of  the  entire  audience. 

Thus,  then,  all  this  friendship  —  all  these  protestations 
of  devotion  —  were  only  a  farce  —  a  very  juggling  trick. 
Pinetti  had  never  felt  the  slightest  affection  for  me ;  his 
flattery  was  only  meant  to  draw  me  into  the  trap  he  had 
laid  for  my  vanity,  and  he  wished  to  destroy  by  a  public 
humiliation  a  rival  wh'o  annoyed  him. 

He  was  perfectly  successful  in  this  respect,  for  from 
that  day  my  most  intimate  friends,  fearing  probably, 
that  the  ridicule  I  endured  might  be  reflected  on  them, 
suddenly  turned  their  backs  on  me.  This  desertion  affected 
me  deeply,  but  I  had  too  much  pride  to  beg  the  renewal 
of  such  passing  friendship,  and  I  resolved  on  quitting 
Naples  immediately.  Besides,  I  was  planning  a  scheme 
of  vengeance,  for  which  solitude  was  necessary. 

Pinetti,  like  the  coward  he  was,  had  fled  after  the  atro- 
cious insult  he  had  offered  me.  To  have  challenged  him 
would  be  doing  him  too  much  honor,  so  I  vowed  to  fight 
him  with  his  own  weapons,  and  humiliate  the  shameful 
traitor  in  my  turn. 

This  was  the  plan  I  drew  up : 

I  determined  to  devote  myself  ardently  to  sleight-of- 
hand,  and  study  thoroughly  an  art  of  which  I  as  yet  knew 


102  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

only  the  first  principles.  Then,  when  quite  confident  in 
myself — when  I  had  added  many  new  tricks  to  Pinetti's 
repertoire — I  would  pursue  my  enemy,  enter  every  town 
before  him,  and  continually  crush  him  by  my  superiority. 

Full  of  this  idea,  I  sold  everything  I  possessed,  and 
took  refuge  in  the  country,  where,  completely  retired  from 
the  world,  I  prepared  my  plans  for  vengeance.  I  cannot 
describe  to  you,  my  friend,  what  patience  I  devoted  and 
how  I  toiled  during  the  six  months  my  voluntary  retreat 
lasted;  but  I  was  more  than  compensated  for  it,  as  my 
success  was  complete.  I  gained  a  degree  of  skill  to  which 
I  had  never  dared  to  pretend :  Pinetti  was  no  longer  my 
master,  and  I  became  his  rival. 

Not  satisfied  with  these  results,  I  intended  also  to 
eclipse  him  by  the  richness  of  my  stage.  I,  therefore,  or- 
dered apparatus  of  unknown  brilliancy  in  those  days, 
spending  in  this  every  farthing  I  possessed.  With  what 
delight  did  I  regard  these  glittering  instruments,  each  of 
which  seemed  to  me  a  weapon  capable  of  inflicting  mortal 
wounds  on  my  adversary's  vanity.  How  proudly  my  heart 
beat  at  the  thought  of  the  contest  I  would  commence  with 
him ! 

Henceforth,  it  would  be  a  duel  of  skill  between  Pinetti 
and  myself,  but  a  mortal  duel ;  one  of  us  must  remain  on 
the  ground,  and  I  had  reason  to  hope  that  I  should  be  the 
victor  in  the  struggle. 

Before  commencing  my  tour  I  made  some  inquiries 
about  my  rival,  and  learned  that,  after  traversing  Southern 
Italy,  he  had  just  left  Lucca,  en  route  for  Bologna.  I 
learned,  too,  that,  on  leaving  that  city,  he  intended  to 
visit  Modena,  Parma  and  Piacenza. 

Without  loss  of  time  I  set  out  for  Modena,  in  order  to 
precede  him  there,  and  thus  prevent  him  performing. 


A  SCHEME  OF  REVENGE.  103 

Enormous  bills  announced  the  representations  of  "  THE 
COUNT  DE  GRISY,  THE  FRENCH  ARTIST,"  and  my  pro- 
gramme was  most  attractive,  for  it  contained  all  Pinetti's 
tricks.  The  papers  had  puffed  the  latter  so  extravagantly 
for  some  time  past,  that  I  felt  sure  my  performance  would 
be  gladly  witnessed. 

In  fact,  my  room  was  taken  by  storm,  as  eagerly  as  on 
my  disastrous  performance  at  Naples ;  but  this  time  the 
result  was  very  different.  The  improvements  I  had  intro- 
duced in  my  rival's  tricks,  and  the  great  skill  I  displayed 
in  performing  them,  gained  me  a  unanimous  verdict. 

From  this  time  my  success  was  insured,  and  the  follow- 
ing performances  raised  my  name  above  that  of  all  the 
most  fashionable  magicians  of  the  day.  According  to  the 
plan  I  had  laid  down,  I  left  Modena  when  I  heard  of 
Pinetti's  approach,  and  went  to  Parma.  My  rival,  full 
of  faith  in  his  merits,  and  not  believing  in  my  success, 
took  the  theatre  I  had  just  left.  But  he  began  to  be 
bitterly  undeceived ;  the  whole  city  was  satiated  with  the 
style  of  amusement  he  announced ;  no  one  responded  to 
his  appeal,  and,  for  the  first  time,  the  success  to  which  he 
was  accustomed  slipped  from  his  grasp. 

Chevalier  Pinetti,  who  had  so  long  held  undivided  sway, 
was  not  the  man  to  yield  to  a  person  he  called  a  novice. 
He  had  guessed  my  plans,  and,  far  from  awaiting  the  at- 
tack, he  acted  on  the  offensive,  and  came  to  Parma,  where 
he  opened  a  room  exactly  opposite  mine.  But  this  town 
was  lost  to  him  like  the  last :  he  had  the  misery  of  seeing 
my  theatre  continually  filled,  while  his  was  quite  deserted. 

I  must  tell  you,  too,  my  friend,  that  all  the  money  I 
netted  only  covered  my  luxurious  outlay.  What  did  I 
care  for  gold  and  silver  ?  I  only  dreamed  of  revenge,  and 
to  satisfy  that  feeling  I  squandered  my  money.  I  wished, 


104  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBEKT-HOUDIN. 

above  all,  to  pale  that  star  which  had  formerly  eclipsed 
me.  I  displayed  regal  pomp  in  my  performances;  the 
theatre  and  its  approaches  were  literally  covered  with 
tapestry  and  flowers,  while  the  house  and  the  stage,  glis- 
tening with  light,  presented  to  the  dazzled  eyes  of  the 
audience  numerous  escutcheons,  bearing  compliments  to 
the  ladies,  who  were  thus  quite  gained  over  to  the  side  of 
the  gallant  Count  de  Grisy. 

In  this  way  I  crushed  Pinetti,  although  he  did  all  in  his 
power  to  offer  me  a  vigorous  resistance.  But  what  could 
his  tinsel  and  old-fashioned  ornaments  avail  against  what  I 
may  fairly  term  my  elegance  and  distinguished  manners  ? 

Piacenza,  Cremona,  Mantua,  Vicenza,  Padua,  and  Ve- 
nice, were  witnesses  of  our  desperate  struggle,  and,  des- 
pite his  rage  and  despair,  the  arrogant  Pinetti  was  obliged 
to  endure  my  superiority,  if  he  did  not  recognize  it. 
Abandoned  by  even  his  most  zealous  admirers,  he  deter- 
mined to  quit  the  field,  and  proceeded  towards  Russia. 
Some  slight  success  partly  consoled  his  late  defeats,  but, 
as  if  Fortune  were  determined  on  making  him  repay  the 
favors  she  had  so  long  lavished  on  him,  a  tedious  and 
painful  illness  exhausted  his  strength  as  well  as  his  slight 
savings.  Reduced  to  a  state  of  abject  misery,  he  died  at 
the  village  of  Bartitchoff,  in  Volhynia,  at  the  house  of  a 
nobleman,  who  sheltered  him  from  compassion. 

Pinetti  once  gone,  my  revenge  was  satiated,  and,  being 
master  of  the  battle-field,  I  might  have  abandoned  a  pro- 
fession ill  fitted  for  my  birth.  But  my  medical  connexion 
was  broken  up,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  I  yielded  to  a 
motive  which  you  will  appreciate  some  day ;  when  a  man 
has  once  tasted  the  intoxication  produced  by  the  applause 
of  the  public,  it  is  very  difficult  to  renounce  it ;  with  my 
will  or  against,  I  must  continue  my  profession  as  conjurer. 


NECROMANCY  IN  ROME.  105 

I  therefore  determined  on  profiting  by  the  reputation  I 
had  gained,  and  proceeded  to  Rome,  as  a  brilliant  termi- 
nation to  my  Italian  representations.  Pinetti  had  never 
dared  to  enter  that  city,  less  through  distrust  of  himself 
than  through  fear  of  the  Inquisition,  of  which  he  could 
only  speak  with  terror.  The  chevalier  was  extremely 
prudent  whenever  he  was  personally  concerned  :  he  feared 
being  treated  like  a  sorcerer,  and  ending  his  days  in  an 
auto  da  fe.  More  than  once  he  had  bid  me  take  warning 
by  the  unhappy  Cagliostro,  who  was  condemned  to  death, 
and  only  owed  to  the  clemency  of  the  Pope  the  commuta- 
tion of  the  penalty  into  perpetual  imprisonment. 

Confiding  in  the  intelligence  of  Pius  VII.,  and,  besides, 
having  no  pretensions  to  the  necromancy  Pinetti  affected, 
nor  to  the  charlatanism  of  Cagliostro,  I  proceeded  to  the 
capital  of  the  Christian  world,  where  my  performances 
created  a  great  sensation.  His  Holiness  himself,  on  hear- 
ing of  me,  did  me  the  signal  honor  of  requesting  a  per- 
formance, at  which  I  was  advised  all  the  dignitaries  of  the 
Church  would  form  my  audience. 

You  can  fancy,  my  lad,  with  what  eagerness  I  acquiesced 
in  his  wish,  and  what  care  I  devoted  to  my  preparations. 
After  selecting  all  my  best  tricks,  I  ransacked  my  brains 
to  invent  one  worthy  of  my  illustrious  spectators.  But  I 
had  no  need  to  search  long,  for  chance,  that  most  ingeni- 
ous of  inventors,  came  to  my  aid. 

On  the  day  prior  to  the  performance  I  was  in  the  shop 
of  one  of  the  first  watchmakers  of  Rome,  when  a  servant 

came  in  to  ask  if  his  eminence  the  Cardinal  de 's 

watch  was  repaired. 

"  It  will  not  be  ready  till  this  evening,"  the  watchmaker 
replied ;  "  and  I  will  do  myself  the  honor  of  carrying  it  to 
your  master  myself." 


106  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

When  the  servant  had  retired,  the  tradesman  said  to 
me : 

"  This  is  a  handsome  and  capital  watch.  The  cardinal 
to  whom  it  belongs  values  it  at  more  than  10,000  fr. ;  for, 
as  he  ordered  it  himself  of  the  celebrated  Bre'guet,  he 
fancies  it  must  be  unique  of  its  kind.  Strangely  enough, 
though,  only  two  days  ago,  a  young  scamp  belonging  to 
this  city  offered  me  a  precisely  similar  watch,  made  by  the 
same  artist  for  1000  fr." 

While  the  watchmaker  was  talking  to  me,  I  had  already 
formed  a  plan. 

"  Do  you  think,"  I  said  to  him,  "that  this  person  is 
still  inclined  to  dispose  of  his  watch?" 

"Certainly,"  the  watchmaker  replied.  "This  young 
prodigal,  who  has  spent  all  his  fortune,  is  now  reduced  to 
sell  his  family  jewels :  hence  the  1000  fr.  will  be  welcome." 

"  Is  he  to  be  found  ?" 

"Nothing  easier:  in  a  gambling-house  he  never  quits." 

"  Well,  then,  sir,  I  am  anxious  to  purchase  the  watch, 
but  it  must  be  to-day.  Have  the  kindness,  then,  to  buy 
it  for  me.  After  that,  you  will  engrave  on  it  his  emi- 
nence's arms,  so  that  the  two  watches  may  be  perfectly 
similar,  and  on  your  discretion  the  profit  you  make  by  the 
transaction  will  depend." 

The  watchmaker  knew  me,  and  probably  suspected  the 
use  I  intended  to  make  of  the  watch ;  but  he  was  assured 
of  my  discretion,  as  the  honor  of  my  success  would  depend 
on  it.  Hence  he  said : 

"  I  only  require  a  quarter  of  an  hour  to  go  to  the 
gambling-house,  and  I  am  confident  your  offer  will  be 
accepted." 

The  quarter  of  an  hour  had  not  elapsed  ere  my  negotia- 
tor returned  with  the  chronometer  in  his  hand. 


THE  CARDINAL'S  WATCH.  107 

"Here  it  is!"  he  said,  with  an  air  of  triumph.  "My 
man  received  me  like  an  envoy  from  Providence,  and  gave 
me  the  watch  without  even  counting  the  money.  To-night 
all  will  be  ready." 

In  fact,  that  same  evening  the  watchmaker  Drought  me 
the  two  chronometers,  and  handed  me  one.  On  compar- 
ing them,  it  was  impossible  to  detect  the  slightest  differ- 
ence. It  cost  me  dear,  but  I  was  now  certain  of  perform- 
ing a  trick  which  must  produce  a  decided  effect. 

The  next  day  I  proceeded  to  the  Pontiff's  palace,  and 
at  six  o'clock,  upon  a  signal  given  by  the  Holy  Father,  I 
stepped  on  the  stage.  I  had  never  appeared  before  such 
an  imposing  assembly.  Pius  VII.,  seated  in  a  large  arm- 
chair on  a  dais,  occupied  the  foreground :  near  him  were 
seated  the  cardinals,  and  behind  them  were  the  different 
prelates  and  dignitaries  of  the  Church. 

The  Pope's  face  breathed  benevolence,  and  it  was  for- 
tunate for  me,  for  the  sight  of  this  smiling  and  gentle  face 
dissipated  an  unpleasant  idea  which  had  been  strangely 
troubling  me  for  some  moments. 

"Suppose  this  performance,"  I  said  to  myself,  "were 
merely  a  feigned  examination  to  make  me  confess  my 
connexion  with  the  infernal  powers  ?  May  not  my  words 
be  taken  down,  and  perhaps  Cagliostro's  perpetual  im- 
prisonment be  reserved  as  the  punishment  for  my  innocent 
experiments  ?" 

My  reason  soon  dismissed  such  an  absurdity — it  was 
not  probable  the  Pope  would  lend  himself  to  such  an  un- 
worthy snare.  Although  my  fears  were  completely  re- 
moved by  this  simple  reasoning,  my  opening  address  dis- 
played my  feelings  in  some  degree,  for  it  seemed  more 
like  a  justification  than  the  prelude  to  a  performance. 

"Holy  Father!"  I  said,  bowing  respectfully,  "I  am 


108  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-IIOUDIN. 

about  to  show  you  some  experiments  to  which  the  name 
of  '  White  Magic '  has  been  most  unjustly  given.  This 
title  was  invented  by  charlatans  to  impress  the  multitude, 
but  it  only  signifies  a  collection  of  clever  deceptions  in- 
tended to  amuse  the  imagination  by  ingenious  artifices." 

Satisfied  by  the  favorable  impression  my  address  pro- 
duced, I  gaily  commenced  my  performance.  I  could  not 
describe  to  you,  my  dear  lad,  all  the  pleasure  I  felt  on 
this  evening ;  and  the  spectators  seemed  to  take  such 
lively  interest  in  all  they  saw,  that  I  felt  myself  in 
unusual  spirits.  The  Pope  himself  was  delighted. 

"  But,  Monsieur  le  Comte,"  he  continually  said,  with 
charming  simplicity,  "how  can  you  do  that?  I  shall  be 
quite  ill  with  merely  trying  to  guess  your  secrets." 

After  the  "blind  man's  game  of  piquet,"  which  literally 
astounded  the  audience,  I  performed  the  trick  of  the  "  burnt 
writing,"  to  which  I  owe  an  autograph  I  set  great  store 
by.  This  is  how  the  trick  is  done : 

A  person  writes  a  sentence  or  two :  he  is  then  requested 
to  burn  the  paper,  which  must  be  afterwards  found  intact 
in  a  sealed  envelope.  I  begged  his  Holiness  to  write  a 
sentence  :  he  consented,  and  wrote  as  follows  : 

"  I  have  much  pleasure  in  stating  that  M.  le  Comte  de 
Grisy  is  an  amiable  sorcerer." 

The  paper  was  burned,  and  nothing  could  depict  the 
Pope's  astonishment  on  finding  it  in  the  centre  of  a  large 
number  of  sealed  envelopes.  I  received  his  permission  to 
keep  this  autograph. 

To  end  my  performance,  and  set  the  crown  on  my  ex- 
plojts,  I  now  proceeded  to  the  trick  I  had  invented  for  the 
occassion. 

Here  I  had  several  difficulties  to  contend  with;  the 
greatest  was  certainly  to  induce  Cardinal  de to  lend 


A  BROKEN  WATCH.  109 

me  his  watch,  and  that  without  asking  him  directly  for  it, 
and,  to  succeed,  I  must  have  recourse  to  a  ruse.  At  my 
request  several  watches  were  offered  me,  but  I  returned 
them  with  the  excuse,  more  or  less  true,  that,  as  they  had 
no  peculiarity  of  shape,  it  would  be  difficult  to  prove  the 
identity  of  the  one  I  chose. 

"If  any  gentleman  among  you,"  I  added,  "has  a  watch 
of  rather  large  size  (this  was  the  peculiarity  of  the  card- 
inal's), and  would  kindly  lend  it  to  me,  I  should  prefer  it 
as  better  suited  for  the  experiment.  I  need  not  say  I  will 
take  the  greatest  care  of  it ;  I  only  wish  to  prove  its  su- 
perority,  if  it  really  possess  it,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  to 
marvellously  improve  it.' 

All  eyes  were  naturally  turned  on  the  cardinal,  who,  it 
was  known,  set  great  value  on  the  exaggerated  size  of  his 
chronometer.  He  asserted,  with  some  show  of  reason 
perhaps,  that  the  works  acted  more  freely  in  a  large  case. 
However,  he  hesitated  to  lend  me  his  beloved  watch,  till 
Pius  VII.  said  to  him : 

"  Cardinal,  I  fancy  your  watch  will  suit  exactly;  oblige 
me  by  handing  it  to  M.  de  Grisy." 

His  eminence  assented,  though  not  without  numberless 
precautions;  and  when  I  had  the  chronometer  in  my 
hands,  I  drew  the  attention  of  the  Pope  and  the  cardinals 
to  it,  while  pretending  to  admire  the  works  and  handsome 
chasing. 

"Is  your  watch  a  repeater?"  I  then  said  to  the  car- 
dinal. 

"  No,  sir,  it  is  a  chronometer,  and  watches  of  that  de- 
gree of  accuracy  are  not  usually  encumbered  with  unneces- 
sary machinery." 

" Indeed!  a  chronometer;  then  it  must  be  English?"  I 
said,  with  apparent  simplicity. 


110  MEMOIRS  OP  KOBERT-HOUDIN. 

"What,  sir?"  the  cardinal  replied,  as  if  stung  by  my 
remark,  "  do  you  think  chronometers  are  only  made  in 
England?  On  the  contrary,  the  best  specimens  have 
always  been  made  in  Fr.ance.  What  English  maker  can 
be  compared  with  Pierre  Leroy,  Ferdinand  Berthoud,  or 
Breguet  above  all,  who  made  that  chronometer  for  me  ?" 

The  Pope  began  to  smile  at  the  cardinal's  energy. 

"Well,  then,  we  will  select  this  chronometer,"  I  said, 
putting  a  stop  to  the  conversation  I  had  purposely  started. 
"  I  have,  then,  gentlemen,  to  prove  to  you  its  solidity  and 
excellent  qualities.  Now  for  the  first  trial." 

And  I  let  the  watch  fall  to  the  ground.  A  cry  of  terror 
rose  on  all  sides,  while  the  cardinal,  pale  and  trembling, 
bounded  from  his  seat,  saying,  with  ill-suppressed  wrath, 

"You  are  playing  a  very  sorry  jest,  sir." 

"But,  monseigneur,"  I  said,  with  the  greatest  calmness, 
"you  have  no  occasion  to  be  frightened;  I  merely  wish  to 
prove  to  these  gentlemen  the  perfection  of  your  watch.  I 
beg  you  not  to  be  alarmed ;  it  will  escape  scathless  from 
all  the  trials  I  subject  it  to." 

With  these  words  I  stamped  on  the  case,  which  broke, 
flattened,  and  soon  presented  but  a  shapeless  mass.  At 
first,  I  really  fancied  the  cardinal  was  going  into  a  fit ; 
he  could  scarcely  restrain  his  passion ;  but  the  Pope  then 
turned  to  him : 

"  Come,  cardinal,  have  you  no  confidence  in  our  sor- 
cerer ?  For  my  part,  I  laugh  like  a  child  at  it,  being  con- 
vinced there  has  been  some  clever  substitution." 

"Will  your  Holiness  permit  me  to  remark,"  I  said,  re- 
spectfully, " that  there  has  been  no  substitution?  I  ap- 
peal to  his  eminence,  who  will  recognise  his  own  watch." 

And  I  offered  the  cardinal  the  shapeless  relics  of  his 
watch.  He  examined  them  anxiously,  and  finding  his  arms 
engraved  inside  the  case,  said,  with  a  deep  sigh, 


THE  WATCH  MELTED  DOWN.  Ill 

"Yes,  that  is  certainly  my  watch.  But,"  he  added, 
dryly,  "I  know  not  how  you  will  escape,  sir:  at  any  rate, 
you  should  have  played  this  unjustifiable  trick  on  some 
object  that  might  be  replaced,  for  my  chronometer  is 
unique!" 

"  Well,  your  excellency,  I  am  enchanted  at  that  cir- 
cumstance, for  it  must  enhance  the  credit  of  my  experi- 
periment.  Now,  with  your  permission  I  will  proceed." 

"  Good  gracious  me,  sir,  you  did  not  consult  me  before 
destroying  the  watch.  Do  what  you  please,  it  is  no  con- 
cern of  mine." 

The  identity  of  the  cardinal's  watch  thus  proved,  I 
wished  to  pass  into  the  Pope's  pocket  the  one  I  had  bought 
the  previous  evening.  But  I  could  not  dream  of  this  so 
long  as  his  Holiness  remained  seated.  Hence,  I  sought 
some  pretext  to  make  him  rise,  and  soon  found  one. 

A  brass  motar,  with  an  enormous  pestle,  was  now 
brought  in.  I  placed  it  on  the  table,  threw  in  the  frag- 
ments of  the  chronometer,  and  began  pounding  furiously. 
Suddenly,  a  slight  detonation  was  heard,  and  a  vivid  light 
came  from  the  vessel,  which  cast  a  ruddy  hue  over  the 
spectators,  and  produced  a  magical  appearance.  All 
this  while,  bending  over  the  mortar,  I  pretended  to  see 
something  that  filled  me  with  the  liveliest  astonishment. 

Through  respect  for  the  Pope,  no  one  ventured  to  rise, 
but  the  Pontiff,  yielding  to  his  curiosity,  approached  the 
table,  followed  by  a  portion  of  the  audience.  They  might 
look  and  look :  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  flame. 

"  I  know  not  whether  I  must  attribute  it  to  the  dazed 
state  of  my  brain,"  said  his  Holiness,  passing  his  hand 
over  his  eyes,  "but  I  can  distinguish  nothing." 

I,  too,  had  much  the  same  idea,  but,  far,  from  confess- 
ing it,  I  begged  the  Pope  to  come  round  the  table  and 


112  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

chose  a  more  favorable  spot.  During  this  time  I  slipped 
my  reserve  watch  into  the  Pope's  pocket.  The  experi- 
ment was  certain,  and  the  cardinal's  watch  had,  by  this 
time,  been  reduced  to  a  small  ingot,  which  I  held  up  to 
the  spectators. 

"Now,"  I  said,  "I  will  restore  this  ingot  to  its  original 
shape,  and  the  transformation  shall  be  performed  during 
its  passage  to  the  pocket  of  a  person  who  cannot  be 
suspected  of  complicity." 

"Aha!"  the  Pope  said,  in  a  jocular  tone,  "that  is  be- 
coming a  little  too  strong.  But  what  would  you  do,  my 
good  sorcerer,  if  I  asked  you  to  choose  my  pocket?" 

"Your  Holiness  need  only  order  for  me  to  obey." 

"Well,  Monsieur  le  Comte,  let  be  so." 

"Your  Holiness  shall  be  immediately  satisfied." 

I  then  took  the  ingot  in  my  fingers, "showed  it  to  the 
company,  and  it  disappeared  on  my  uttering  the  word 
"Pass." 

The  Pope,  with  manifestations  of  utter  incredulity,  thrust 
his  hand  into  his  pocket.  I  soon  saw  him  blush  with  con- 
fusion, and  draw  out  the  watch,  which  he  handed  to  the 
cardinal  as  if  afraid  of  burning  his  fingers. 

At  first  it  was  supposed  to  be  a  mystification,  as  no 
one  could  believe  in  such  an  immediate  repair ;  but  when 
my  audience  were  assured  that  I  had  fulfilled  my  promise,  I 
received  the  applause  so  successful  a  trick  deserved. 

The  next  day  the  Pope  sent  me  a  rich  diamond  snuff-box, 
while  thanking  me  for  all  the  pleasure  I  had  occasioned  him. 

This  performance  created  a  great  sensation  at  Rome, 
and  every  one  flocked  to  see  my  marvels.  Perhaps  they 
hoped  to  witness  the  famous  trick  of  the  "  Broken  Watch," 
which  I  had  performed  at  the  Vatican.  But  though  I  was 
then  very  extravagant,  I  was  not  so  mad  as  to  spend 


ANTONIO.  ]13 

1200  francs  a  night  in  the  performance  of  a  trick  which 
could  never  again  be  done  under  such  favorable  auspices. 

An  operatic  company  was  attached  to  the  theatre  while 
I  performed,  but  their  performances  were  suspended 
during  my  stay  in  Rome.  The  manager  employed  this 
leisure  time  to  rehearse  a  fresh  piece  to  be  performed  on 
my  departure,  and  this  gave  me  a  daily  opportunity  to 
mix  with  the  actors.  I  had  formed  a  peculiar  friendship 
with  one  of  the  youngest  of  them,  a  charming  lad  of 
eighteen,  with  a  tenor  voice,  whose  elegant  and  regular 
features  formed  a  singular  contrast  to  his  employment. 
His  feminine  face,  with  his  small  waist  and  timid  de- 
meanor, quite  injured  the  effect  when  he  played  the  part 
of  a  lover ;  he  looked  like  a  boarding-school  miss  in  man's 
clothes.  Yet,  I  discovered  afterwards  that  this  effeminate 
person  contained  a  bold  and  manly  heart,  for  Antonio 
(such  was  the  tenor's  name)  had  been  engaged  in  several 
affairs  of  honor,  in  which  he  had  done  his  manly  devoir. 

At  this  part  of  Torrini's  story  I  interrupted  him,  for 
the  name  of  Antonio  struck  me. 

«  What !"  I  said,  "  can  it  be  that ?" 

Certainly ;  the  same  person  !  Your  astonishment  is 
justifiable,  but  it  will  cease  when  I  tell  you  that  more  than 
twenty  years  have  elapsed  since  the  time  I  speak  of.  At 
that  period,  Antonio  did  not  wear  a  heavy  black  beard, 
and  his  face  had  not  yet  been  embrowned  by  the  open  air 
and  the  fatigues  of  our  laborious  and  nomadic  life." 

Antonio's  mother  was  also  engaged  at  the  theatre ;  she 
performed  in  the  ballets,  and  her  name  was  Lauretta  Tor- 
rini.  Though  close  upon  forty,  she  had  retained  all  her 
pristine  charms.  She  must  have  been  very  beautiful  in 
her  time,  but  the  greatest  scandal-mongers  could  not  re- 

H 


114  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

proach  her  with  the  least  levity.  She  was  the  widow  of  a 
government  clerk,  and  had  brought  up  her  family  by  her 
own  labor. 

Antonio  was  not  her  only  child ;  she  had  borne  a  daugh- 
ter with  him.  These  twins,  as  frequently  ^happens,  had 
such  a  striking  resemblance,  that  only  their  dress  distin- 
guished them ;  and  they  had  been  christened  Antonio  and 
Antonia.  The  lad  received  a  musical  education  at  the 
theatre,  but  Antonia  was  always  sedulously  kept  from  the 
stage.  After  a  careful  education,  her  mother  had  placed 
her  in  a  milliner's  shop,  till  she  could  set  up  for  herself. 

I  have  dwelled  so  long  on  this  family  because,  as  you 
can  guess,  it  soon  became  my  own.  My  friendship  for 
Antonio  was  not  quite  disinterested,  for  I  owed  to  it  an 
introduction  to  his  sister.  Antonia  was  lovely  and  virtu- 
ous :  I  asked  her  hand,  and  was  accepted.  Our  marriage 
was  to  take  place  as  soon  as  my  engagement  had  termi- 
nated, and  it  was  arranged  that  Lauretta  and  Antonio 
should  share  our  fortunes. 

I  have  already  said  that  Antonio  appeared  effeminate  ; 
but  although  large  black  eyes,  fringed  with  long  eyelashes, 
and  exquisitely  pencilled  eyebrows,  a  Grecian  nose,  and 
fresh  and  ruddy  lips,  were  almost  wasted  on  Antonio,  still 
these  advantages  admirably  suited  my  betrothed.  Such  a 
treasure  could  not  long  remain  concealed :  Antonia  was 
noticed,  and  all  the  rich  young  nobles  fluttered  round  her. 
But  she  loved  me,  and  had  no  difficulty  in  resisting  the 
numerous  and  brilliant  offers  made  her. 

While  waiting  the  wished-for  day,  Antonia  and  I  formed 
plans  for  our  future  happiness.  She  would  enjoy  a  travel- 
ling life,  and  as  she  longed  for  a  sea-voyage,  I  promised 
to  take  her  to  Constantinople.  I  wished  to  perform  before 
Selim  III.,  who  was  considered  an  enlightened  prince,  and 


BROTHER  AND  SISTER.  115 

hospitably  treated  the  artists  he  assembled  at  his  court. 
All,  then,  seemed  to  smile  on  ray  plans,  when  one  morn- 
ing, while  dreaming  of  these  pleasant  prospects,  Antonio 
suddenly  entered  my  room. 

"My  dear  Edmond,"  he  said,  "I  defy  you  to  guess 
where  I  have  been,  and  what  has  happened  to  me  since 
last  evening.  I  must  tell  you,  then,  as  prelude  to  my 
story,  that,  dragged,  in  spite  of  myself,  into  a  drama, 
which  threatened  to  become  very  sanguinary,  I  turned  it 
into  a  farce,  the  details  of  which  are  worth  hearing.  You 
shall  judge. 

"  I  was  at  the  theatre  yesterday,  when  a  carpenter,  a 
worthy  man  in  many  respects,  but  who  spends  three  parts 
of  his  time  in  public-houses,  came  up  and  begged  to  tell 
me  a  secret. 

"  Monsieur  Antonio,"  he  said,  "  if  yon  wish  to  prevent 
a  great  evil,  you  have  no  time  to  lose.  I  have  just  been 
drinking  with  some  of  my  comrades,  and  a  man,  whose 
acquaintance  we  had  formed  over  the  bottle,  told  us  we 
could  gain  a  large  sum  easily.  The  proposal  was  so  agree- 
able that  we  accepted  it  unanimously,  on  condition  of 
knowing  what  was  wanted  of  us.  We  were  told,  and  this 
is  what  we  promised  to  do : 

"  This  evening,  when  your  sister  leaves  her  shop,  we  are 
to  surround  her,  as  if  quarrelling,  and  drown  her  cries  by 

our  shouts.     The  Marquis  d'A 's  people  will  manage 

the  rest.     Now  do  you  understand  ?" 

I  only  understood  too  well,  and,  scarcely  thanking  the 
carpenter,  I  rushed  off  at  full  speed.  Fortunately  my 
brains  did  not  fail  me.  I  was  in  front  of  a  gunsmith's : 
I  went  in,  bought  a  pair  of  pistols,  and  then  hastened 
home. 

"  Mother,"  I  said,  as  I  went  in,  "  I  have  made  a  bet 


116  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

that  I  should  be  taken  for  Antonia  by  putting  on  her 
clothes.  Dress  me,  then,  quickly,  and  tell  my  sister  I  beg 
her  to  leave  the  shop  half  an  hour  later  than  usual." 

My  mother  did  as  I  asked,  and  when  I  was  dressed  I  so 
perfectly  resembled  Antonia  that  she  kissed  me,  and  burst 
into  a  hearty  laugh  at  my  pleasant  idea. 

Nine  o'ck>ck  had  just  struck :  it  was  the  hour  appointed 
for  the  abduction.  I  hastened  away,  doing  my  best  to 
imitate  my  sister's  walk  and  manner.  My  heart  beat  vio- 
lently when  I  saw  this  band  of  robbers  and  servants  ap- 
proach me,  and  I  instinctively  put  my  hands  on  my  fire- 
arms ;  but  I  soon  resumed  the  timid  demeanor  of  a  young 
girl  and  walked  onwards. 

The  affair  was  executed  just  as  I  had  been  told ;  I  was 
carried  off  with  all  proper  respect,  in  spite  of  my  feigned 
resistance,  and  placed  in  a  carriage  with  the  blinds  down. 

The  horses  started  off  at  a  gallop. 

There  was  a  man  by  my  side  whom  I  recognized  in  the 

gloom ;  it  was  certainly  the  Marquis  d' A .  I  had  to 

endure  his  warm  excuses,  and  then  his  passionate  assur- 
ances, which  sent  the  blood  to  my  cheeks,  and  I  was 
several  times  on  the  point  of  betraying  myself,  but  my 
vengeance  was  so  exquisite  and  near  that  I  suppressed  my 
anger.  My  purpose  was,  so  soon  as  I  found  myself  alone 
with  him,  to  challenge  him  to  mortal  combat. 

Half  an  hour  had  scarce  elapsed  when  we  reached  the 
end  of  our  journey.  The  Marquis  begged  me  to  descend, 
and  politely  offered  me  his  hand  to  lead  me  into  a  small 
isolated  villa.  We  entered  a  brilliantly  lighted  room, 
where  some  young  gentlemen  and  ladies  were  awaiting  us. 
My  abductor,  radiant  with  victory,  introduced  me  to  his 
friends  and  their  companions,  and  received  their  felicita- 
tions. 


THE  MARQUIS  DECEIVED.  117 

I  lowered  my  eyes  for  fear  my  passion  might  be  noticed, 
for  I  knew  that  this  humiliating  triumph  had  been  reserved 
for  my  sister,  who  would  certainly  have  died  of  shame. 
Five  minutes  later  a  servant  opened  the  folding-doors,  and 
announced  that  supper  was  served. 

"To  table,  friends,"  the  marquis  exclaimed  —  "to 
table,  and  let  each  take  the  place  he  likes  best !"  And 
he  offered  me  his  arm. 

We  seated  ourselves  round  a  sumptuous  repast,  the  mar- 
quis waiting  on  me,  for  he  had  dismissed  all  the  attend- 
ants. For  some  time  I  refused  to  touch  anything ;  but, 
you  know,  my  dear  Edmond,  nature  has  claims  which  can- 
not be  neglected.  I  was  fearfully  hungry,  and  my  appe- 
tite was  sharpened  by  the  scent  of  the  dainty  dishes.  In 
spite  of  my  anger,  I  was  forced  to  give  up  my  plans  of 
abstention,  and  yielded  to  temptation. 

I  could  not  eat  without  drinking,  and  there  was  no 
water  on  the  table.  The  other  ladies  had  no  objection  to 
wine,  so  I  followed  their  example.  Still  I  was  very  mo- 
derate, and,  to  play  my  part  properly,  I  affected  great 
reserve  and  extreme  timidity. 

The  marquis  was  delighted  to  see  me  behaving  thus. 
He  addressed  some  compliments  to  me,  but  noticing  they 
were  disagreeable,  he  did  not  press  me,  feeling  assured 
that  he  could  take  his  revenge  at  a  more  suitable  season. 

We  had  reached  the  dessert ;  the  whole  of  the  company 
were  in  a  charming  humor.  May  I  confess  to  you,  my 
dear  Edmond,  that  the  sight  of  these  merry  comrades  and 
coquettish  dames  produced  the  same  effect  on  my  senses 
as  the  dishes  had  done  on  my  appetite,  and  insensibly  dis- 
pelled my  gloomy  ideas  ?  I  had  no  strength  left  to  con- 
tinue the  dramatic  character  I  had  undertaken,  and  I 
sought  a  more  satisfactory  conclusion.  I  soon  made  up 
my  mind. 


118  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

Three  toasts  had  been  drunk  in  succession  :  "  Wine  !" 
"Play!"  "Love!"  The  ladies  had  joined  in  emptying 
their  glasses,  while  I  remained  calm  and  silent.  The 
marquis  begged  me  in  vain  to  join  in  the  general  gaiety. 
Suddenly  I  rose,  glass  in  hand,  and  assuming  the  free- 
and-easy  manner  of  a  soldier — 

"Per  Bacco !"  I  shouted,  in  a  baritone  voice,  giving 
the  marquis  a  hearty  slap  on  the  shoulder.  "  Drink,  my 
friends,  to  the  lovely  eyes  of  these  ladies!"  Then  I 
drained  my  glass  at  a  draught,  and  trolled  out  a  lively 
ditty. 

I  cannot  describe  the  marquis's  feelings ;  all  I  know 
is,  he  turned  to  stone  under  my  hand.  His  friends  re- 
garded me  in  stupor,  taking  me,  doubtlessly,  for  a  maniac, 
while  the  women  laughed  convulsively  at  my  strange 
outbreak. 

"  Well,  gentlemen,"  I  continued,  "  why  are  you  sur- 
prised ?  Do  yo  not  recognize  Antonio  Torrini,  the  tenor, 
all  alive  and  well,  and  prepared  to  accept  anybody's  chal- 
lenge with  the  pistol  or  the  glass,  he  doesn't  care  which." 
At  the  same  time  I  laid  my  pistols  on  the  table. 

At  these  words,  the  marquis  at  length  awoke  from  the 
torpor  into  which  the  evanishment  of  his  sweet  dreams 
had  plunged  him,  and  he  raised  his  hand  to  strike  me  in 
the  face.  But  his  eyes  no  sooner  met  mine,  than,  yield- 
ing to  the  influence  of  an  illusion  which  he  abandoned 
with  such  pain,  he  fell  back  on  his  chair. 

"  No  !"  he  said,  "  I  cannot  strike  a  woman." 

"  Oh,  as  for  that,  M.  le  Marquis,"  I  said,  as  I  left  the 
table,  "  I  only  ask  ten  minutes  to  appear  before  you  in 
my  proper  attire."  I  then  went  into  an  adjoining  room, 
where  I  doffed  gown,  petticoats  and  finery :  I  had  kept 
all  my  own  clothes  under  my  feminine  masquerade  with 


TORRINI  IS  MARRIED.  119 

the  exception  of  my  coat.  That  article  of  clothing  not 
being  indispensable  to  receive  a  blow,  and  as  I  was  in 
fighting  costume,  I  returned  to  the  dining-room. 

During  my  absence  the  scene  had  changed.  I  seemed 
to  have  "  missed  my  cue,"  as  they  say  in  the  theatre, 
when  an  actor  does  not  arrive  in  time  to  reply.  All  the 
guests  regarded  me  with  smiles,  and  one  coming  up,  said : 

"  Monsieur  Antonio,  my  friend's  seconds  and  yours, 
appointed  ex  officio  during  your  absence,  are  agreed  that 
you  have  taken  ample  satisfaction,  and  have  no  occasion 
to  fight.  Do  you  approve  of  our  decision  ?" 

I  offered  my  hand  to  the  marquis,  who  took  it  with  very 
ill  grace,  for  he  evidently  could  not  stomach  the  bitter 
trick  I  had  played  him.  This  de'noument  satisfied  my 
vengeance,  and  I  withdrew.  But,  before  leaving,  each  of 
us  pledged  our  honor  to  discretion,  in  which  the  ladies 
joined. 

After  thanking  Antonio  for  his  devotion  to  me,  and 
complimenting  him  on  his  quickness,  I  added : 

"  These  gentlemen  acted  very  gallantly  in  confiding  a 
secret  to  the  ladies ;  but  I,  who  flatter  myself  I  can  read 
the  human  heart,  say  with  Fra^ois  I., 

Souvent  femme  varie, 
Bien  fol  est  qui  s'y  fie. 

For  this  reason  the  marriage  shall  take  place  the  day 
after  to-morrow,  and  in  three  days  we  will  start  for  Con- 
stantinople." 

Antonio  loved  his  sister  as  much  as  myself,  and  he  was 
right,  (Torrini  added,)  for  she  was  the  most  perfect  woman 
earth  ever  saw.  She  was  an  angel ! 


120  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

The  Count  de  Grisy  was  so  excited  by  these  reminis- 
cences, that  he  raised  his  arms  to  heaven,  where  he  seemed 
to  seek  the  woman  he  had  so  deeply  loved.  But  he  fell 
back  on  his  pillow  again,  exhausted  by  the  agony  the  dis- 
arrangement of  his  bandages  produced.  He  was  forced 
to  break  off  his  narrative  till  the  next  day. 


THE  SULTAN'S  PALACE.  121 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Continuation  of  Torrini's  History — The  Grand  Turk  orders  a  Per- 
formance—  A  marvellous  Trick — A  Page  cut  in  two  —  Pitying  Pro- 
test of  the  Harem — Agreeable  Surprise — Return  to  France — Tor- 
rini's Son  Killed — Madness — Decay — My  first  Performance — An 
annoying  Accident — I  return  Home. 

THE  next  day,  Torrini  continued  his  narration,  without 
awaiting  any  request  from  me : 

On  arriving  at  Constantinople,  we  enjoyed  for  some 
time  a  delicious  rest,  whose  charm  was  heightened  by  all 
the  intoxication  of  the  honeymoon.  At  the  end  of  the 
month,  however,  I  thought  our  mutual  happiness  ought 
not  to  prevent  me  trying  to  realize  the  plan  I  had  formed 
of  performing  in  the  presence  of  Selim  III. ;  but,  before 
asking  this  favor,  I  thought  of  giving  some  performances 
in  the  town.  However  great  my  reputation  might  be  in 
Italy,  it  was  hardly  probable  that  my  name  had  crossed 
the  Mediterranean:  hence  I  had  a  new  reputation  to 
achieve. 

I  had  a  theatre  erected,  in  which  my  success  continued : 
crowds  came  to  see  me,  and  the  highest  personages  were 
my  constant  visitors.  I  may  be  permitted  to  boast  of  this 
success,  my  lad,  for  the  Turks,  naturally  indolent  and 
phlegmatic,  when  utterly  astounded  by  the  sight  I  offered 
them,  reminded  me,  by  their  enthusiasm,  of  my  excitable 
Italian  spectators. 


122  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

The  grand  vizier  himself  came  to  one  of  my  perform- 
ances. He  spoke  about  it  to  his  sovereign,  and  excited 
his  curiosity  to  such  a  degree,  that  I  received  an  invita- 
tion, or  rather  a  command,  to  court.  I  proceeded,  in  all 
haste,  to  the  palace,  where  the  apartment  was  shown  me 
in  which  the  performance  would  take  place.  A  body  of 
workmen  was  placed  at  my  orders,  and  I  was  allowed  all 
latitude  for  my  theatrical  arrangements.  Only  one  stipu- 
lation was  made :  the  stage  must  be  exactly  in  front  of  a 
gilded  lattice,  behind  which,  I  was  told,  the  Sultan's  wives 
would  be  seated. 

Within  two  days,  my  theatre  was  erected  and  completely 
decorated.  It  represented  a  garden,  filled  with  natural 
flowers,  whose  lively  colors  and  fragrant  scent  delighted 
both  sight  and  smell.  At  the  rear,  and  in  the  midst  of 
dense  foliage,  a  fountain  fell  back,  in  thousands  of  drops, 
into  a  crystal  basin,  sparkling  like  diamonds  in  the  bril- 
liant light,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  falling  water  deli- 
ciously  cooled  the  air.  Lastly,  to  my  right  and  left, 
hedges  of  flowers  served  as  side  scenes  and  laboratory, 
while  the  buffet,  loaded  with  my  brilliant  apparatus,  was 
erected  in  the  centre  of  this  Garden  of  Armida. 

When  all  was  ready,  the  Sultan  and  his  numerous  suite 
took  the  places  assigned  to  them,  according  to  their  court 
precedence.  The  Sultan  reclined  on  a  sofa,  with  the  grand 
vizier  by  his  side,  while  an  interpreter,  keeping  respect- 
fully in  the  rear,  translated  my  remarks  to  him.  When 
the  curtain  rose,  a  shower  of  rose-leaves  fell  on  the  stage, 
and  formed  an  odoriferous  and  deliciously  soft  carpet.  I 
then  appeared,  dressed  in  a  rich  Louis  XV.  costume. 

I  will  spare  you  the  account  of  my  tricks,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  one,  which,  like  the  "broken  watch,"  was  the 
inspiration  of  the  moment.  I  must  add,  that  my  specta- 


THE  PAGE  SAWN  ASUNDER.  123 

tors  had  been  already  considerably  startled  when  I  per- 
formed it. 

Addressing  Selim  in  the  grave  and  solemn  tone  proper 
to  a  magician,  I  said : 

"Noble  Sultan,  I  am  about  to  proceed  from  simple 
tricks  of  skill  to  the  sublime  science  of  magic :  but,  in 
order  that  my  incantations  may  succeed,  I  must  address 
myself  directly  to  your  august  highness.  Will  you  be 
pleased  to  lend  me  this  ornament  which  I  require  ?" 

And  I  pointed  to  a,  splendid  necklace  of  pearls  which 
adorned  his  neck.  The  Sultan  handed  it  to  me,  and  I 
placed  it  in  the  hands  of  Antonio,  who  was  helping  me, 
in  a  page's  costume. 

"It  is  well  known,"  I  continued,  "that  magicians  pos- 
sess unlimited  powers,  for  they  hold  in  subjection  familiar 
spirits,  who  blindly  obey  their  masters'  orders.  Let  these 
spirits,  then,  prepare  to  obey  me,  for  I  am  about  to  sum- 
mon them." 

Here  I  majestically  traced  a  circle  round  me  with  my 
wand,  and  pronounced,  in  a  low  voice,  certain  magic 
spells.  Then  I  turned  to  my  page,  to  take  the  collar 
from  him,  but  it  had  disappeared.  In  vain  I  asked 
Antonio  for  it :  his  only  reply  was  a  hoarse  and  sarcastic 
laugh,  as  if  he  were  possessed  by  one  of  the  spirits  I  had 
summoned. 

"  Mighty  prince,"  I  then  said  to  the  Sultan,  "  believe 
me  when  I  say  that,  far  from  sharing  in  this  audacious 
theft,  I  am  forced  to  confess  myself  the  victim  of  a  plot  I 
did  not  at  all  foresee.  But  your  highness  may  be  reas- 
sured :  we  possess  means  of  forcing  our  subordinates  to 
return  to  their  duty.  These  means  are  as  powerful  as 
they  are  terrible,  and  I  will  offer  you  an  example." 

At  my  summons   two  slaves  brought   in  a  long  and 


124  •    MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

narrow  chest,  and  a  trestle  for  sawing  wood.  Antonio 
seemed  to  be  terribly  alarmed,  but  I  coldly  ordered  the 
slaves  to  seize  him,  place  him  in  the  chest,  the  cover  of 
which  was  immediately  nailed  down,  and  lay  it  across  the 
trestle.  Then,  taking  up  a  saw,  I  prepared  to  cut  the 
chest  asunder,  when  piercing  cries  were  heard  from  behind 
the  gilt  lattice  —  the  Sultan's  wives  were  protesting  against 
my  barbarity.  I  stopped  a  moment  to  give  them  time  to 
recover ;  but  so  soon  as  I  set  to  work  again,  new  protes- 
tations, in  which  I  distinguished  threats,  compelled  me  to 
suspend  my  operations. 

Not  knowing  if  I  might  be  allowed  to  address  the  gilt 
lattice,  I  determined  to  reassure  these  sympathizing  ladies 
indirectly. 

"  Gentlemen,"  I  said  to  my  numerous  audience,  "  have 
no  fears,  I  beg,  for  the  culprit ;  instead  of  feeling  any 
pain,  I  assure  you  he  will  experience  the  most  delightful 
sensations." 

It  was  evident  that  my  statement  was  believed,  for 
silence  was  restored,  and  I  could  continue  my  experiment. 
The  chest  was  at  length  divided  into  two  parts ;  I  raised 
them  so  that  each  represented  a  pedestal ;  I  then  placed 
them  side  by  side,  and  covered  them  with  an  enormous 
wicker  cone,  over  which  I  threw  a  large  black  cloth,  on 
which  cabalistic  signs  were  embroidered  in  silver.  This 
duly  performed,  I  recommenced  my  little  farce  of  magic 
circles  and  bombastic  words ;  when  suddenly  the  deep 
silence  was  interrupted  by  two  voices  performing  an  ex- 
quisite duet  beneath  the  black  cloth. 

During  this  time  Bengal  lights  were  kindled  all  around 
as  if  by  enchantment.  At  length  the  fires  and  the  voices 
having  gradually  died  away,  a  noise  was  heard,  the  cone 
and  the  cloth  were  upset,  and All  the  spectators 


ANTONIO  AND  ANTONIA.  125 

uttered  a  cry  of  surprise  and  admiration :  for  two  pages, 
exactly  alike,  appeared  on  the  pedestals,  holding  a  silver 
salver,  on  which  lay  the  collar  of  pearls.  My  two  Anto- 
nios  walked  up  to  the  Sultan,  and  respectfully  offered  him 
his  rich  ornament. 

The  whole  audience  had  risen  as  if  to  give  more  effect 
to  the  applause  bestowed  on  me ;  the  Sultan  himself 
thanked  me  in  his  own  language,  which  I  did  not  under- 
stand, but  I  fancied  I  read  in  his  face  an  expression  of 
deep  satisfaction.  The  next  day  an  officer  of  the  palace 
came  to  compliment  me  on  behalf  of  his  master,  and  offered 
me  the  collar  which  had  been  so  cleverly  juggled  away 
the  previous  evening. 

The  trick  of  the  two  pages,  as  I  called  it,  was  one  of  the 
best  I  ever  performed,  and  yet  it  was  probably  one  of  the 
most  simple.  Of  course  you  understand,  my  dear  boy, 
that  Antonio  disposed  of  the  collar  while  I  distracted 
public  attention  by  my  incantations.  You  also  under- 
stand that,  while  he  was  being  nailed  up  in  the  chest,  he 
escaped  through  an  opening  corresponding  with  a  trap  in 
the  stage;  hence  I  had  only  to  cut  through  planks. 
Lastly,  by  the  aid  of  the  cone  and  the  cloth,  Antonio  and 
his  sister,  dressed  precisely  alike,  came  up  through  the 
trap  and  took  their  places  on  the  pedestals.  The  mise  en 
scene,  and  the  coolness  of  the  performers,  did  the  rest. 

This  trick  created  great  excitement  in  the  city ;  the 
story,  passing  from  mouth  to  mouth,  soon  attained  the 
proportions  of  a  miracle,  and  contributed  much  to  the 
success  of  my  remaining  performances. 

I  might  have  realized  a  large  fortune  by  making  a  tour 
through  the  Turkish  provinces,  but  I  was  mortally  tired 
of  the  peaceful  life  I  was  leading,  and  I  felt  the  need  of 
changing  my  ground  and  seeking  fresh  excitement.  Be- 


126  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

sides,  I  began  to  feel  a  degree  of  nostalgia,  and  as  my 
wife  begged  me  to  return  to  Italy,  or  some  other  Christian 
country,  as  she  did  not  wish  our  first-born  to  come  into 
the  world  among  Pagans,  we  set  out  for  France. 

It  was  my  intention  to  proceed  to  Paris,  but,  on  arriv- 
ing at  Marseilles,  I  read  in  the  papers  the  advertisements 
of  a  conjurer  of  the  name  of  Olivier.  His  programme 
contained  the  whole  of  Pinetti's  tricks,  which  was  almost 
my  own.  Which  of  the  two  was  the  plagiarist  ?  I  have 
reason  to  believe  it  was  Olivier.  At  any  rate,  having  no 
desire  to  engage  in  a  new  passage  of  arms,  I  evacuated 
the  town. 

It  is  impossible  for  me,  my  friend,  to  describe  to  you 
my  itinerary  during  sixteen  years;  suffice  it  to  say,  I 
traversed  the  whole  of  Europe,  stopping,  of  preference,  in 
the  chief  towns.  For  a  long  time  my  reputation  remained 
at  its  zenith,  but  suddenly,  like  Pinetti,  I  was  destined  to 
experience  the  inconstancy  of  Fortune. 

One  fine  day  I  found  my  star  beginning  to  pale ;  the 
public  did  not  flock  so  eagerly  to  my  performances.  I  no 
longer  heard  the  bravos  that  used  to  greet  my  appearance 
on  the  stage,  and  the  spectators  appeared  to  me  indifferent. 
How  was  this  ?  What  could  be  the  cause  of  this  capricious 
change  ?  My  repertoire  was  still  the  same :  it  was  my 
Italian  one,  of  which  I  was  so  proud,  and  for  which  I  had 
made  such  sacrifices ;  I  had  introduced  no  change ;  the 
tricks  I  submitted  to  the  public  were  the  same  which  had 
been  so  warmly  accepted.  I  felt,  too,  that  I  had  lost  none 
of  my  vigor,  skill,  or  spirit. 

Precisely  because  I  had  made  no  change,  the  public  had 
begun  to  grow  indifferent ;  as  an  author  has  observed,  very 
justly,  "the  artist  who  does  not  rise,  descends;"  and  this 
was  peculiarly  applicable  to  my  position :  while  civiliza- 


A  CHANGE  OF  PERFORMANCE.  127 

tion  had  been  progressing,  I  remained  stationary  —  hence, 
I  was  going  down. 

When  this  truth  struck  me,  I  made  a  complete  reform 
in  my  programme.  The  card  tricks  no  longer  possessing 
the  charm  of  novelty,  as  the  meanest  jugglers  could  do 
them,  were  nearly  all  suppressed,  and  I  substituted  other 
experiments. 

The  public  like,  and  run  after,  touching  scenes ;  I  in- 
vented one,  which,  in  this  respect,  would  certainly  satisfy 
them,  and  draw  them  back  to  me.  But  why  did  Heaven 
allow  me  to  succeed  ?  why  did  my  brain  conceive  this  fatal 
idea  ?  (Torrini  exclaimed,  raising  his  hands  to  heaven,  and 
his  eyes  filling  with  tears.)  Had  it  not  been  so,  I  should 
still  have  my  son,  and  should  not  have  lost  my  Antonia ! 

It  was  some  time  before  Torrini  could  continue  his  nar- 
rative, for  these  terrible  reminiscences  caused  him  mental 
torture.  At  length,  after  holding  his  hand  over  his  eyes 
for  some  time,  as  if  trying  to  concentrate  himself  in  his 
grief,  he  continued : 

About  two  years  ago  I  was  at  Strasburg ;  I  was  per- 
forming at  the  theatre,  and  every  one  was  anxious  to  see 
my  touching  scene,  which  I  had  named  "  The  Son  of 
William  Tell."  My  son  Giovanni  played  the,  part  of 
Walter,  the  son  of  the  Swiss  hero,  but,  instead  of  placing 
the  apple  on  his  head,  he  held  it  between  his  teeth.  On  a 
given  signal,  a  spectator  armed  with  a  pistol,  fired  at  Gio- 
vanni, and  the  ball  lodged  in  the  heart  of  the  fruit. 

Owing  to  the  success  of  this  trick,  my  money-box  was  soon 
filled  again.  This  restored  my  confidence  in  the  future, 
and,  far  from  profiting  by  the  lessons  of  adversity,  I  re- 
assumed  my  luxurious  habits,  as  I  fancied  I  had  again 
pinioned  Fortune,  and  she  could  not  slip  from  me. 


128  MEMOIRS  OP  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

This  illusion  was  fearfully  dispelled. 

"  The  Son  of  William  Tell,"  of  which  I  had  made  a 
separate  act,  usually  terminated  the  performance.  We 
were  about  to  execute  it  for  the  thirtieth  time,  and  I  had 
ordered  the  curtain  to  be  dropped  in  order  to  have  the 
stage  arranged  as  the  public  square  of  Altorf,  but  all  at 
once  my  son,  who  had  just  put  on  the  traditional  Helvetic 
costume,  came  to  me,  complaining  of  a  sudden  indisposi- 
tion, and  begging  me  to  hurry  on  the  performance.  I  had 
just  seized  the  bell-rope  to  warn  the  carpenters  to  raise 
the  curtain,  when  my  son  fell  down  in  a  fainting  fit. 

Without  caring  for  the  impatience  of  the  public,  we  paid 
all  attention  to  my  poor  Giovanni,  and  I  bore  him  to  a 
window.  The  fresh  air  soon  restored  him  —  still,  there 
was  a  mortal  pallor  on  his  face,  which  would  prevent  his 
appearance  in  public.  I  was  myself  assailed  by  a  strange 
presentiment,  which  urged  me  to  stop  the  performance, 
and  I  resolved  to  announce  it  to  the  public. 

The  curtain  was  drawn  up,  and,  with  features  contracted 
by  anxiety,  I  walked  to  the  footlights,  Giovanni  even  paler 
than  myself,  and  scarce  able  to  stand,  being  at  my  side.  I 
briefly  explained  the  accident  that  had  happened,  ren- 
dering it  impossible  to  perform  the  final  experiment,  and 
offered  to*  return  the  entrance  money  to  any  who  might 
feel  dissatisfied.  But  at  these  words,  which  might  excite 
great  confusion  and  grave  abuses,  my  courageous  son, 
making  a  supreme  effort,  stated  that  he  felt  better,  and 
able  to  perform  his  share  in  the  trick,  which,  after  all,  was 
passive,  and  not  at  all  fatiguing. 

The  public  received  this  intimation  with  lively  applause, 
and  I,  the  insensate  and  barbarous  father,  taking  no  heed 
of  the  warning  that  heaven  had  sent  me,  had  the  cruelty, 
the  madness,  to  accept  this  generous  act  of  devotion.  Only 


A  FATAL  TRICK.  129 

one  word  was  needed  to  prevent  ruin,  dishonor,  and  death, 
yet  that  word  died  away  on  my  lips !  Listening  solely  to 
the  noisy  applause  of  the  audience,  I  allowed  the  perform- 
ance to  commence. 

I  have  already  stated  the  nature  of  the  trick  that  at- 
tracted the  whole  town ;  it  consisted  in  substituting  one 
ball  for  another.  A  chemist  had  taught  me  how  to  make  a 
metallic  composition  bearing  an  extraordinary  resemblance 
to  lead.  I  had  made  balls  of  it  which,  when  placed  by  the 
side  of  the  real  ones,  could  not  be  detected.  The  only  pre- 
caution ncccessary  was  not  to  press  them  too  hard,  as  they 
were  of  a  very  friable  nature ;  but  for  the  same  reason, 
when  inserted  in  the  pistol,  they  fell  into  an  impalpable 
powder,  and  did  not  go  further  than  the  wad. 

Till  now  I  had  never  dreamed  of  any  danger  in  the 
performance  of  this  trick,  and,  indeed,  I  had  taken  all 
possible  precautions.  The  false  bullets  were  contained  in 
a  small  box,  of  which  alone  I  had  the  key,  and  I  only 
opened  it  at  the  moment  of  action.  That  evening  I  had 
been  peculiarly  careful ;  then  how  can  I  explain  the  fright- 
ful error?  I  can  only  accuse  fatality.  So  much  is  cer- 
tain—  a  leaden  bullet  had  been  mixed  with  the  others 
in  the  box,  and  was  inserted  in  the  pistol. 

Conceive  all  the  horrof  of  such  an  action !  Imagine  a 
father,  with  a  smile  on  his  lips,  giving  the  signal  which 
will  deprive  his  son  of  life  —  it  is  frightful,  is  it  not? 

The  pistol  was  fired,   and   the   spectator,  with   cruel 
adroitness,   had  aimed  so  truly  that  the  bullet  crashed 
through  my  son's  forehead.     He  fell  forward  with  his  face  * 
to  the  ground,  rolled  over  once  or  twice,  and 

For  a  moment  I  remained  motionless,  still  smiling  at 
the  audience,  and  incapable  of  believing  in  such  a  misfor- 
tune. In  a  second  a  thousand  thoughts  crossed  my  brain. 

I 


130  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIX. 

Could  it  be  an  illusion,  a  surprise  I  had  prepared,  and 
which  I  had  momentarily  forgotten  ?  or  was  it  the  return 
of  my  son's  attack? 

Paralysed  by  doubt  and  horror,  my  feet  clung  to  the 
stage ;  but  the  blood  welling  profusely  from  the  wound 
violently  recalled  me  to  the  terrible  reality.  At  last  I 
understood  all,  and,  mad  with  agony,  I  cast  myself  on 
my  son's  lifeless  corpse. 

I  know  not  what  took  place  afterwards,  or  what  became 
of  me.  When  I  recovered  the  use  of  my  senses,  I  found 
myself  in  prison,  with  two  men  before  me,  a  physician  and 
a  magistrate.  The  latter,  sympathising  with  me,  was 
kind  enough  to  perform  his  painful  mission  with  all  pos- 
sible regard  for  my  feelings ;  but  I  could  scarce  under- 
stand the  questions  he  addressed  to  me ;  I  knew  not  what 
to  reply,  and  I  contented  myself  with  shedding  tears. 

I  was  fully  committed,  and  brought  up  at  the  next 
assizes.  I  assure  you  I  took  my  place  in  the  dock  with 
indescribable  delight,  hoping  I  should  only  leave  it  to  re- 
ceive the  just  punishment  of  the  crime  I  had  committed.  I 
was  resigned  to  die ;  I  even  Ayished  it,  and  I  determined  to 
do  all  in  my  power  to  get  rid  of  a  life  which  was  odious 
to  me.  Hence,  I  offered  no  defence ;  but  the  court  re- 
quested a  barrister  to  undertake  my  cause,  and  he  defend- 
ed me  with  great  skill.  I  was  found  guilty  of  "  Homicide 
through  imprudence,"  and  sentenced  to  six  months'  im- 
prisonment, which  I  passed  in  an  infirmary.  Here  I  saw 
Antonio  again  for  the  first  time,  who  brought  me  terrible 
news:  my  dear  Antonia,  unable  to  endure  such  compli- 
cated misery,  had  died  of  a  broken  heart. 

This  new  blow  affected  me  so  much  that  I  was  nearly 
dead.  I  spent  the  greater  period  of  my  imprisonment 
in  a  state  of  weakness  akin  to  death ;  but  at  length  my 


A  PLAN  IS  FORMED.  131 

vigorous  constitution  overcame  all  these  shocks,  and  I, 
regained  my  health.  I  had  quite  recovered  when  the  doors 
of  my  prison  were  opened. 

Grief  and  remorse  accompanied  me  wherever  I  went, 
and  cast  me  in  a  state  of  apathy  from  which  nothing  could 
arouse  me.  For  three  mouths  I  behaved  like  a  madman, 
running  about  the  country,  and  only  eating  just  enough 
to  keep  me  from  perishing  of  hunger.  I  went  forth  at 
daybreak,  and  did  not  return  till  night.  I  could  not  pos- 
sibly have  said  what  I  did  during  these  lengthened  excur- 
sions, but  I  probably  walked  about  with  no  other  object 
than  to  change  place. 

Such  an  existence  could  not  last  long ;  poverty,  and 
her  mornful  handmaids,  soon  preyed  upon  me.  My  wife's 
illness,  my  imprisonment,  and  our  expenses  during  these 
three  months  of  listlessness,  had  swallowed  up,  not  only 
my  money,  but  also  all  my  apparatus.  Antonio  explained 
our  situation  to  me,  and  begged  me  to  recommence  my 
performances. 

I  could  not  leave  this  good  brother,  this  excellent  friend, 
in  such  a  critical  position ;  I  therefore  acceded  to  his  en- 
treaties, on  condition  that  I  should  change  my  name  to 
Torrini,  and  never  perform  in  any  theatre.  Antonio 
offered  to  arrange  everything  to  my  wish.  By  selling  the 
valuable  presents  I  had  received  on  various  occasions,  and 
which  he  had  managed  to  secrete  from  the  officers,  he  paid 
my  debts,  and  had  the  carriage  built  in  which  we  suffered 
this  painful  accident. 

From  Strasburg  we  proceeded  to  Basle.  My  first  per- 
formances were  stamped  with  the  deepest  sorrow,  but  I 
gradually  substituted  skill  and  care  for  my  gaiety  and 
good  spirits,  and  the  public  accepted  the  change.  After 
visiting  the  principal  towns  in  Switzerland,  we  returned  to 


132  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

France,  ana  it  was  thus  I  found  you  my  dear  boy,  on  the 
road  between  Tours  and  Blois. 

I  saw  by  Torrini's  last  sentences,  and  the  manner  in 
which  he  tried  to  shorten  his  narrative,  that  he  not  only 
required  rest,  but  also  to  recover  from  the  painful  emotions 
these  melancholy  reminiscences  had  evoked.  A  few  words, 
too,  Torrini  had  dropped  confirmed  my  notion  that  he  was 
in  a  pecuniary  dilemma ;  hence,  I  left  him  under  the  pre- 
tence of  letting  him  sleep,  and  begged  Antonio  to  take  a 
walk  with  me.  I  wanted  to  remind  him  it  was  time  to 
carry  out  the  plan  we  had  formed,  which  consisted  in  giv- 
ing a  few  performances  at  Aubussen,  without  dropping  a 
word  of  it  to  our  dear  master.  Antonio  was  of  my  opin- 
ion; but  when  it  came  to  deciding  which  of  us  should 
perform,  he  positively  asserted  he  knew  no  more  of  the 
conjuring  art  than  he  had  been  obliged  to  learn  —  he  could 
slip  a  card,  a  handkerchief,  or  a  coin  into  a  person's 
pocket,  if  required,  but  nothing  more.  I  learned  later 
that  Antonio,  though  not  very  skillfuj,  knew  more  than  he 
pretended. 

We  decided  that  I  should  represent  the  sorcerer ;  and 
I  must  have  been  animated  with  a  great  desire  to  help 
Torrini,  and  pay  him  in  part  the  debt  of  gratitude  I  owed, 
ere  I  consented  to  mount  a  stage  so  suddenly.  For, 
although  I  had  shown  my  friends  some  of  my  tricks,  the 
performance  had  always  been  gratuitous ;  now  I  had  to  do 
with  spectators  who  paid  for  their  seats,  and  this  caused 
me  considerable  apprehension. 

Still,  my  resolution  once  formed,  I  proceeded  with  An- 
tonio to  the  mayor's,  in  order  to  obtain  permission  to  per- 
form. This  magistrate  was  an  excellent  man ;  aware  of 
the  accident  that  had  happened  to  us,  and  that  he  had  it 


A  SAD  ACCIDENT.  133 

in  his  power  to  do  a  good  deed,  he  offered  us  the  gratui- 
tous use  of  a  concert-room.  More  than  this,  to  give  us  a 
chance  of  forming  some  acquaintances  who  might  be  of 
use  to  us,  he  begged  us  to  come  to  his  house  the  next 
Sunday  evening.  We  accepted  this  offer  gratefully,  and 
had  reason  to  congratulate  ourselves  on  it.  The  mayor's 
guests,  pleased  with  certain  tricks  I  showed  them,  faith- 
fully kept  their  promise  of  attending  my  first  performance, 
and  not  one  was  missing. 

My  heart  panted  audibly  when  the  curtain  rose,  and  I 
was  obliged  to  whisper  to  myself  that  the  spectators,  aware 
of  the  object  of  my  performance,  would  be  inclined  to 
look  over  much.  Some  cheering  applause  restored  my 
confidence,  and'  I  got  through  my  first  tricks  very  de- 
cently. This  success  heightened  my  assurance,  and  at 
length  I  acquired  a  degree  of  coolness  I  did  not  think 
myself  capable  of. 

It  is  true,  I  was  perfectly  aufait  in  my  tricks,  through 
having  seen  Torrini  perform  them  so  often.  The  princi- 
pal ones  were,  the  Trowel,  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt,  the 
Bird  Dead  and  Alive,  and  the  Omelette  in  the  Hat.  I 
concluded  with  the  Blind  Man's  Game  of  Piquet,  which  I 
had  carefully  studied ;  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  succeed, 
and  was  warmly  applauded. 

An  accident  that  happened  during  the  performance  sin- 
gularly lessened  the  joy  I  felt  in  my  triumph.  I  had 
borrowed  a  hat  to  make  an  omelette  in.  Those  who  have 
seen  this  trick  are  aware  that  it  is  chiefly  intended  to 
produce  a  laugh,  and  that  the  object  borrowed  runs  no 
risk.  I  had  got  through  the  first  part  excellently,  con- 
sisting in  breaking  the  eggs,  beating  them,  throwing  in  tho 
salt  and  pepper,  and  pouring  it  all  into  the  hat.  After 
this,  I  had  to  feign  the  frying  of  the  omelette  j  I  placed 


134  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

a  candle  on  the  ground,  then,  holding  the  hat  sufficiently 
high  above  it  to  escape  the  flame,  I  began  turning  it 
gently  round,  while  making  some  of  the  stereotyped  jokes 
adapted  to  the  trick.  The  public  laughed  so  heartily  and 
loudly  that  I  could  scarce  hear  myself  speak,  but  I  could 
not  suspect  the  cause  of  their  hilarity.  Unfortunately,  I 
detected  it  only  too  soon.  A  strong  scent  of  burning 
made  me  turn  my  eyes  on  the  candle:  it  had  gone  out. 
I  then  looked  at  the  hat :  the  crown  was  quite  burned  and 
stained.  I  had  kept  on  turning  the  hat  round  unsuspect- 
ingly, until  I  at  length  put  it  on  the  top  of  the  candle  and 
covered  it  with  grease. 

Quite  dazed  by  this  sight,  I  stopped,  not  knowing  how 
to  escape.  Fortunately  for  me,  my  alarm,  though  so 
truthful,  was  regarded  as  a  well  played  farce  :  it  was  sup- 
posed this  was  only  a  heightened  effect,  and  this  confi- 
dence in  my  skill  was  an  additional  torture,  for  my  super- 
natural power  could  not  repair  a  hat.  My  only  chance 
was  to  gain  time ;  so  I  continued  the  trick,  with  a  tolera- 
bly easy  air,  and  produced  to  the  public  a  splendidly 
cooked  omelette,  which  I  had  enough  courage  left  to 
season  with  a  few  jokes.' 

Still,  that  quarter  of  an  hour  of  which  Rabelais  speaks 
had  arrived.  I  must  restore  the  hat,  and  publicly  confess 
myself  a  clumsy  blockhead.  I  had  resigned  myself  to 
this,  and  was  going  to  do  so,  with  all  the  dignity  I  could 
muster,  when  I  heard  Antonio  call  me  from  the  side.  His 
voice  restored  my  courage,  for  .1  felt  assured  he  had  pre- 
pared some  way  for  escape.  I  went  up  to  him,  and  found 
him  standing  with  a  hat  in  his  hand. 

"  Look  here,"  he  said,  exchanging  it  for  the  one  I  held, 
"  it's  yours ;  but  no  matter,  keep  a  good  face :  rub  it  as 
if  you  were  removing  the  stains,  and,  on  handing  it  to 
the  owner,  ask  him,  gently,  to  read  what  is  at  the  bottom." 


A  KIND  ACCOMPLICE.  135 

I  did  as  he  told  me ;  and  the  owner  of  the  burnt  hat, 
after  receiving  mine,  was  going  to  betray  me,  when  I 
pointed  to  the  note  fastened  in  the  crown.  It  ran  as 
follows : 

"  An  act  of  carelessness  caused  me  to  commit  a  fault, 
which  I  will  repair.  To-morrow  I  will  do  myself  the 
honor  of  asking  your  hatter's  address :  in  the  meanwhile, 
be  kind  enough  to  act  as  my  accomplice." 

My  request  was  granted,  for  my  secret  was  honestly 
kept,  and  my  professional  honor  saved.  The  success  of 
this  performance  induced  me  to  give  several  others :  the 
receipts  were  excellent,  and  we  realized  a  very  fair  sum. 
Immense  was  our  joy  when  we  carried  our  treasure  tri- 
umphantly to  Torrini.  That  worthy  man,  after  listening 
to  all  the  details  of  our  plot,  was  half  inclined  to  scold 
us  for  our  secrecy,  but  he  could  not  find  heart  to  do  so. 
He  thanked  us  most  heartily,  and  we  began  to  set  matters 
straight  again,  as  our  master  was  now  convalescent,  and 
could  attend  to  his  own  business.  Torrini  paid  all  his 
creditors  in  full,  purchased  two  horses,  and,  having 
nothing  further  to  do  at  Aubusson,  he  determined  on 
starting. 

The  moment  of  our  separation  had  arrived,  and  my  old 
friend  had  been  arming  himself  for  it  during  several  days. 
The  parting  was  painful  to  us  all ;  a  father  quitting  his 
son,  without  hope  of  ever  seeing  him  again,  could  not 
have  displayed  more  violent  grief  than  did  Torrini  when 
pressing  me  in  his  arms  for  the  last  time.  I,  too,  felt  in- 
consolable at  the  loss  of  two  friends  with  whom  I  would 
so  gladly  have  passed  my  life. 


136  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBE11T-HOUDIN. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Prodigal  Son — Mademoiselle  Houdin — I  go  to  Paris — My  Mar- 
riage— Comte — Studies  of  the  Public  —  A  skillful  Manager — Rose- 
colored  Tickets  —  A  Musky  Style — The  King  of  Hearts  —  Ventrilo- 
quism— The  Mystifiers  Mystified  —  Father  Roujol — Jules  de  Rorere 
— Origin  of  the  word  prestidigitatuer. 

How  my  heart  beat  when  I  returned  to  my  native 
town  !  I  felt  as  if  I  had  been  absent  an  age,  and  yet  it 
was  only  six  months.  The  tears  stood  in  my  eyes  as  I 
embraced  father  and  mother :  I  was  stifled  with  emotion. 
I  have  since  made  long  journeys  in  foreign  countries ;  I 
have  always  returned  to  my  family  safely,  but  never,  I  can 
declare,  have  I  been  so  profoundly  affected  as  on  this 
occasion.  Perhaps  it  is  the  same  with  this  impression  as 
with  so  many  others,  habit  at  last  renders  it  flat. 

I  found  my  father  very  quiet  on  my  account,  for  I  had 
employed  a  trick  to  ease  his  mind.  A  watchmaker  of  my 
acquaintance  had  sent  him  my  letters,  as  if  from  Angers, 
and  he  had  also  forwarded  me  the  replies.  Still,  I  must 
furnish  some  reason  for' my  return,  and  I  hesitated  about 
describing  my  stay  with  Torrini.  At  length,  however, 
urged  by  that  desire,  common  to  all  travellers,  of  narrat- 
ing their  travelling  impressions,  I  gave  an  account  of  my 
adventures,  even  to  their  minutest  details. 

My  mother,  frightened,  and  thinking  I  was  still  brain- 
struck,  did  not  await  the  end  of  my  narrative  to  send  for 


I  KETUltN  HOME.  137 

a  physician,  who  reassured  her  by  stating,  what  my  face 
indeed  confirmed,  that  I  was  in  a  state  of  perfect  health. 

It  may  be  thought,  perhaps,  that  I  have  dwelt  too  long 
on  the  events  that  followed  my  poisoning;  but  I  was  com- 
pelled to  do  so,  for  the  experience  I  acquired  from  Torrini, 
his  history,  and  our  conversations,  had  a  considerable  in- 
fluence on  my  future  life.  Before  that  period  my  inclina- 
tion for  conjuring  was  very  vague :  from  that  time  it 
gained  a  complete  mastery  over  me. 

Still,  I  was  bound  to  wrestle  against  this  feeling  with 
all  my  energy,  for  it  was  not  presumable  that  my  father, 
who  had  unwillingly  yielded  to  my  passion  for  watch- 
making, would  be  so  weak  as  to  let  me  try  a  novel  and 
most  singular  profession.  I  could,  certainly,  take  advan- 
tage of  my  being  of  age,  and  my  own  master ;  but,  besides 
my  unwillingness  to  grieve  my  father,  I  reflected,  too,  that 
as  my  fortune  was  very  small,  I  ought  not  to  risk  it  with- 
out his  consent.  These  reasons  induced  me  to  defer,  if 
not  renounce,  my  plans. 

Besides,  my  success  at  Aubusson  had  not  altered  my 
decided  opinion  about  conjuring,  that  a  man  who  wishes  to 
be  thought  capable  of  performing  incomprehensible  things 
should  have  attained  an  age  which  leaves  it  to  be  supposed 
that  his  superiority  is  the  result  of  lengthened  study. 
The  public  may  permit  a  man  of  forty  to  deceive  them, 
but  they  will  not  bear  it  from  a  young  man. 

After  a  few  days  devoted  to  killing  the  fatted  calf,  I 
entered  the  shop  of  a  Blois  watchmaker,  who  set  me  to 
work  cleaning  and  brushing.  As  I  have  already  said,  this 
mechanical  and  wearisome  task  reduces  the  journeyman 
watchmaker  to  the  level  of  an  automaton.  Each  day  was 
spent  in  the  same  monotonous  round,  here  a  spring  to 
repair,  there  a  pin  to  replace  (for  cylinder  watches  were 


138  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

rare  at  that  period,)  a  chain  to  refasten ;  lastly,  after  a 
cursory  examination  of  the  works,  a  turn  of  the  brush  to 
makj  all  bright  again.  I  am  far  from  wishing  to  run 
down  the  trade  of  a  repairing  watchmaker,  and  I  can 
always  honor  the  skill  employed  in  repairing  a  watch  by 
doing  as  little  as  possible. 

Sometimes,  it  may  be  remarked,  a  watch  comes  back 
from  the  mender's  in  as  bad  a  state  as  when  it  went.  It 
is  true,  but  with  whom  is  the  fault  ?  In  my  belief,  with 
the  public.  In  the  country,  more  especially,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  perform  repairs  conscientiously,  for  the  public  bar- 
gain about  their  watch  or  clock  as  they  would  do  in  buying 
vegetables.  The  consequence  is,  the  watchmaker  is  forced 
to  compound  with  his  conscience,  and  the  customer  loses 
his  money. 

One  thing  is  certain :  I  did  not  like  the  trade,  and  I 
was  growing  atrociously  idle.  But  if  I  were  cold  and  in- 
dolent as  regarded  watch  repairing,  I  felt  a  devouring 
need  for  activity  in  some  other  department.  To  satisfy 
this,  I  gave  myself  up  entirely  to  an  amusement  which 
delighted  me  —  I  became  an  amateur  actor. 

No  one,  I  fancy,  can  blame  me  for  this ;  for,  among 
those  who  read  my  confessions,  I  am  sure  there  is  hardly 
one  who  has  not  performed  in  some  shape.  From  the  boy 
who  recites  a  speech  at  the  school  distribution  of  prizes, 
up  to  the  old  gentleman  who  often  accepts  the  part  of 
"  heavy  father  "  at  one  of  those  agreeable  parties  arranged 
on  long  winter  evenings,  not  one  but  enjoys  the  sweet 
satisfaction  of  being  applauded.  I,  too,  had  this  weak- 
ness ;  and,  urged  on  by  my  travelling  recollections,  I 
wished  to  appear  once  more  before  the  public,  who  had 
already  treated  me  so  kindly. 

Some  young  friends  joined  me  in  forming  a  light  comedy 


ARGUMENTS  AGAINST  MARRIAGE.  139 

company,  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  performing  all  Perlet's 
parts  in  the  most  fashionable  pieces  of  the  day.  Our  per- 
formance was  gratis :  hence,  I  need  not  say  we  had 
crowded  audiences.  Of  course,  too,  we  wore  all  wonder- 
ful actors  —  at  least,  people  told  us  so  —  and  our  gratified 
self-love  found  no  cause  for  refusing  their  praise. 

Unfortunately  for  our  brilliant  success,  rivalry  and 
wounded  feelings,  as  so  frequently  happens,  produced 
discord  among  us,  and  at  last  only  the  hair-dresser  and 
candle-snuffer  were  left  of  our  goodly  company.  These 
two  faithful  followers,  finding  themselves  thus  abandoned, 
held  a  council,  and,  after  mature  deliberation,  decided  that 
they  would  accept  each  other's  resignation,  as  they  could 
not  perform  alone.  In  order  to  explain  the  heroic  per- 
sistency of  these  two  artistes,  I  may  as  well  state  they 
were  the  only  persons  paid  for  their  services. 

My  father  regretted  to  see  me  leave  work  for  pleasure, 
and,  in  order  to  bring  me  back  to  healthy  ideas,  he  formed 
a  plan  which  must  have  the  double  advantage  of  improv- 
ing my  conduct,  and  tying  me  down  to  his  side  :  in  short, 
he  meant  to  establish  me  in  business,  and  make  me  marry. 

I  do  not  know  —  or,  rather,  I  will  not  say  —  why  I  de- 
clined the  latter  proposal,  under  the  pretext  that  I  felt  no 
inclination  for  marriage.  As  for  my  beginning  business,  I 
easily  made  my  father  understand  that  I  was  too  young 
even  to  dream  of  it.  But  I  had  hardly  intimated  my  re- 
fusal^ when  a  very  simple  circumstance  entirely  changed 
my  views,  and  made  me  forget  all  my  oaths  of  fidelity  to 
a  certain  party. 

The  success  my  acting  had  met  with  procured  me  ad- 
mission to  certain  salons,  where  I  often  spent  an  agreeable 
evening ;  for  acting  went  on  here,  too,  in  the  shape  of 
charades. 


140  MEMOIRS  OF  HOBERT-HOUDIN. 

One  evening,  we  were  requested,  as  usual,  to  enliven 
the  visitors  by  one  of  our  proverbs.  I  do  not  remember 
the  word  proposed ;  I  only  know  I  was  chosen  to  fill  the 
part  of  a  bachelor  gourmet.  I  sat  down  to  table,  and 
while  indulging  in  a  meal  like  those  usually  served  up  at 
a  theatre,  I  improvised  a  warm  defence  of  celibacy.  This 
apology  was  all  the  more  easy  to  me,  as  I  needed  only  to 
repeat  the  fine  arguments  I  had  employed  to  my  father 
about  his  double  proposition.  Now,  it  happened  that, 
among  the  persons  listening  to  this  description  of  the 
blessings  of  celibacy,  was  a  young  lady  of  seventeen,  who 
inclined  a  serious  ear  to  my  arguments  against  marriage. 
It  was  the  first  time  I  had  met  her ;  so  I  could  not  ascribe 
any  other  reason  for  her  fixed  attention  than  her  desire  to 
detect  the  word. 

A  man  is  always  delighted  to  find  an  attentive  listener, 
more  especially  when  it  is  a  pretty  young  girl :  hence,  I 
thought  it  my  bounden  duty  to  make  some  polite  remarks 
to  her  during  the  course  of  the  evening.  A  conversation 
ensued,  and  became  so  interesting,  that  we  had  a  great 
deal  still  to  say  to  each  other  when  the  hour  came  for 
separation,  and  I  believe  the  regret  at  parting  was  not  felt 
by  myself  alone. 

This  simple  event  was,  however,  the  cause  of  my  mar- 
riage with  Mademoiselle  Houdin,  and  this  marriage  took 
me  to  Paris.  The  reader  will  now  understand  why  my 
name  is  Robert-Houdin ;  but  I  have  also  to  add  that  this 
double  name,  which  ,1  at  first  assumed  to  distinguish  me 
from  my  numerous  homonymes,  eventually  became  my 
patronymic,  by  a  decision  of  the  council  of  state.  I  may 
be  pardoned  for  remarking  that  this  favor,  always  so 
difficult  to  obtain,  was  granted  me  in  consideration  of  the 
popularity  my  long  and  laborious  toil  had  gained  me  while 
using  that  name. 


I  MARRY  AND  GO  TO  PARIS.  141 

My  father  in-law,  M.  Houdin,  a  celebrated  watchmaker, 
was  a  native  of  Blois,  and  had  gone  to  Paris,  as  a  better 
field  for  his  talents.  He  was  now  engaged  in  the  whole- 
sale clock  trade,  while  making,  with  his  own  hands,  astro- 
nomical clocks,  chronometers,  and  regulators.  It  was 
agreed  that  we  should  live  together,  and  that  I  should  help 
him  in  his  business. 

M.  Houdin  was  quite  as  fond  as  myself  of  everything 
appertaining  to  mechanism,  and  was  thoroughly  versed  in 
the  subject.  Hence,  we  had  long  and  interesting  conver- 
sations on  the  topic,  and  at  the  end  of  one  of  these  I  con- 
fided to  him  my  scheme  of  setting  up  a  room  for  the  dis- 
play of  mechanical  toys  and  sleight-of-hand  tricks.  M. 
Houdin  understood  me,  adopted  my  plans,  and  urged  me 
to  carry  on  my  studies  in  the  path  I  had  chosen.  Proud 
of  the  approbation  of  a  man  with  whose  extreme  prudence 
I  was  acquainted,  I  gave  myself  up  seriously,  during  my 
leisure  hours,  to  my  favorite  exercises,  and  began  by  con- 
triving some  instruments  for  my  future  cabinet. 

My  first  care,  on  arriving  at  Paris,  was  to  attend  a  per- 
formance of  Comte's,  who  had  long  lorded  it  in  his  theatre 
at  the  Gallery  Choiseul.  This  celebrated  professor  was 
now  resting  on  his  laurels,  and  only  performed  once  a 
week.  The  other  evenings  were  devoted  to  the  perform- 
ances of  his  young  actors,  who  were  perfect  prodigies. 

Many  of  my  readers  will  remember  his  bills,  with  their 
singular  announcement  of  the  principal  parts  performed 
by  M.  ARTHUR,  aged  5 ;  MADEMOISELLE  ADELINA,  aged 
4J ;  MADEMOISELLE  VICTORINE,  aged  7 ;  little  VICTOR, 
aged  6.  These  baby  actors  attracted  the  whole  of  Paris. 

Comte  might  have  left  the  stage  entirely,  and  contented 
himsely  with  being  manager  and  dry-nurse  to  these  child- 
ren of  Thalia,  for  he  possessed  a  very  comfortable  fortune ; 


142  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

but  he  made  it  a  point  to  appear  at  least  once  a  week, 
from  a  double  motive :  his  performances,  owing  to  their 
rarity,  always  exercised  a  beneficial  effect  on  the  receipts ; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  by  continuing  to  act  he  prevented 
other  professors  of  conjuring  setting  up  in  opposition  to 
him, 

Comte's  tricks  were  all  drawn  from  the  same  repertory 
I  knew  by  heart ;  hence  they  had  no  great  interest  for  me ; 
still  I  derived  some  profit  from  attending  his  perform- 
ances, for  I  was  enabled  to  study  the  audience. 

I  listened  attentively  to  all  said  around  me,  and  often 
heard  very  judicious  remarks.  These  being  generally 
made  by  persons  not  apparently  gifted  with  great  penetra- 
tion, led  me  to  the  conclusion  that  the  conjurer  ought  to 
distrust  plain  mother  wit,  and  I  worked  out  the  problem 
to  my  own  satisfaction  :  "  that  it  is  easier  to  dupe  a  clever 
man  than  an  ignorant  one." 

This  seems  to  be  a  paradox ;  but  I  will  explain  it. 

The  ordinary  man  only  sees  in  conjuring  tricks  a  chal- 
lenge offered  to  his  intelligence,  and  hence  representations 
of  sleight-of-hand  become  to  him  a  combat  in  which  he  de- 
termines on  conquering.  Ever  on  his  guard  against  the 
honeyed  words  by  means  of  which  the  illusion  is  produced, 
he  hears  nothing,  and  shuts  himself  up  in  this  inflexible 
reasoning : 

"  The  conjurer,"  he  says,  "  holds  in  his  hand  an  object, 
which  he  pretends  he  makes  disappear.  Well,  whatever 
he  may  say  to  distract  my  attention,  my  eyes  shall  not 
leave  his  hand,  and  the  trick  cannot  be  done  without  my 
finding  out  how  he  manages  it." 

It  follows  that  the  conjurer,  whose  artifices  are  princi- 
pally directed  to  the  mind,  must  double  his  address  to  de- 
lude this  obstinate  resistance. 


COMTE  AND  HIS  TRICKS.  143 

The  clever  man,  on  the  contrary,  when  he  visits  a  con- 
juring performance,  only  goes  to  enjoy  the  illusions,  and, 
far  from  offering  the  performer  the  slightest  obstacle,  he 
is  the  first  to  aid  him.  The  more  he  is  deceived  the  more 
he  is  pleased,  for  that  is  what  he  paid  for.  He  knows, 
too,  that  these  amusing  deceptions  cannot  injure  his  repu- 
tation as  an  intelligent  man,  and  hence  he  yields  to  the 
professor's  arguments,  follows  them  through  all  their  de- 
velopments, and  allows  himself  to  be  easily  put  off  the 
right  scent. 

Is  not  my  problem  proved  ? 

Comte  was  also  an  object  of  interesting  study  to  me, 
both  as  manager  and  as  artist.  As  manager,  Comte  could 
have  challenged  the  most  skillful  to  a  comparison,  and  he 
was  a  famous  hand  at  bringing  grist  to  his  mill.  The 
little  schemes  a  manager  employs  to  attract  the  public  and 
increase  his  receipts  are  tolerably  well  known  ;  but  Comte, 
for  a  long  time,  did  not  require  to  have  recourse  to  them, 
as  his  room  was  always  crowded.  At  length  the  day 
arrived  when  the  benches  allowed  some  elbow  room ;  then 
he  invented  his  " family  tickets,"  his  "medals,"  his  "re- 
served boxes  for  the  prize-holders  at  schools  and  colleges," 
&c.,  &c. 

The  family  tickets  gave  admission  to  four  persons  at 
half  price.  Though  all  Paris  was  inundated  with  them, 
every  one  into  whose  hands  one  of  these  tickets  came  be- 
lieved himself  specially  favored  by  Comte,  and  none  failed 
to  respond  to  his  appeal.  What  the  manager  lost  in 
quality  he  amply  regained  in  quantity. 

But  Comte  did  not  stop  here ;  he  also  wished  that  his 
rose-colored  tickets  (the  name  he  gave  his  family  tickets) 
should  bring  him  a  small  pecuniary  profit,  as  compensation 
for  reduced  prices.  He  therefore  offered  each  person  who 


144  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

presented  one  of  these  tickets  a  copper  medal,  on  which 
his  name  was  engraved,  and  asked  in  exchange  the  sum 
of  one  penny.  Suppose  the  ticket-holder  declined,  he  was 
not  admitted,  and  when  matters  came  to  that  pass,  people 
always  paid. 

It  may  be  said  that  a  penny  was  a  trifle ;  but  with  this 
trifle  Comte  paid  for  his  lights ;  at  least  he  said  so,  and 
he  may  be  believed. 

During  the  holidays  the  pink  tickets  disappeared,  and 
made  room  for  those  reserved  for  the  school  prize  boys, 
which  were  far  more  productive  than  the  others,  for  what 
parents  could  deny  their  sons  the  acceptance  of  M.  Comte's 
invitation,  when  they  could  promise  themselves  the  ex- 
treme pleasure  of  seeing  their  beloved  boys  in  a  box  ex- 
clusively occupied  by  crowned  heads?  The  parents,  con- 
sequently, accompanied  their  children,  and  for  a  gratis 
ticket  the  manager  netted  six  or  seven  fold  the  value  of 
his  graceful  liberality. 

I  could  mention  many  other  ways  Comte  augmented  his 
receipts  by.  but  I  will  only  allude  to  one  more. 

If  you  arrived  a  little  late,  and  the  length  of  the  queue 
made  you  fear  the  places  would  be  all  taken,  you  had  only 
to  enter  a  small  cafe*  adjoining  the  theatre,  and  opening 
into  the  Rue  Ventadour.  You  paid  a  trifle  more  for  your 
cup  of  coffee  or  your  glass  of  liqueur,  but  you  were  quite 
sure  that  before  the  public  were  admitted  the  waiter  would 
open  a  secret  door,  allowing  you  to  reach  the  paying-place 
in  comfort  and  choose  your  seat.  In  fact,  Comte's  cafe" 
was  a  true  box-office,  except  that  the  spectator  received 
something  in  return  for  the  sum  usually  charged  for  re- 
serving seats. 

As  artist,  Comte  possessed  the  double  talent  of  ventri- 
loquism and  sleight-of-hand.  His  tricks  were  performed 


PLEASING  THE  LADIES.  145 

skillfully  and  with  a  good  share  of  dash,  while  his  perform- 
ances generally  pleased,  for  the  ladies  were  treated  most 
gallantly.  My  readers  may  judge  for  themselves  from 
the  following  trick,  which  I  believe  was  his  own  invention, 
and  which  always  pleased  me  when  I  saw  it. 

This  experiment  was  called  "  The  Birth  of  the  Flowers," 
and  it  began  with  a  short  address  in  the  shape  of  agreea- 
ble pleasantry. 

"  Ladies,"  the  professor  said,  "  I  propose  on  the  present 
occasion  to  make  twelve  of  you  disappear  from  the  pit, 
twenty  from  the  first  circle,  and  seventy-two  from  the 
second." 

After  the  burst  of  laughter  this  pleasantry  always  pro- 
duced, Comte  added :  "  Reassure  yourselves,  gentlemen ; 
in  order  not  to  deprive  you  of  the  most  graceful  ornament 
of  this  room,  I  will  not  perform  this  experiment  till  the 
end  of  the  evening,"  This  compliment,  spoken  very  mo- 
destly, was  always  excellently  received. 

Comte  proceeded  to  perform  the  trick  in  this  way : 

After  sowing  seeds  in  some  earth  contained  in  a  small 
cup,  he  spread  over  this  earth  some  burning,  liquid  and 
covered  it  with  a  bell,  which,  as  he  said,  was  intended  to 
concentrate  the  heat  and  stimulate  vegetation.  In  fact,  a 
few  seconds  later,  a  boquet  of  varied  flowers  appeared  in 
the  cup.  Comte  distributed  them  among  the  ladies  who 
graced  the  boxes,  and  during  this  distribution  contrived 
to  "plant"  the  following  graceful  remarks:  "Madam,  I 
keep  a  pansy  (pensSe)  for  you. —  It  will  be  my  care,  gen- 
tlemen, that  you  find  no  cares  (soucis)  here. —  Mademoi- 
selle, here  is  a  rose  which  you  have  forced  to  blush  with 
jealousy." 

Before  long  the  little  bouquet  was  exhausted,  but  sud- 
denly the  conjurer's  hands  were  liberally  filled  with  flowers. 

K 


146  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

Then  with  an  air  of  triumph,  he  exclaimed,  displaying  the 
flowers  which  had  come  as  if  by  enchantment : 

"  I  promised  to  metamorphose  all  these  ladies :  could  I 
choose  a  form  more  graceful  and  pleasing?  In  metam- 
orphosing you  all  into  roses,  I  am  only  offering  a  copy  for 
the  original.  Tell  me,  gentlemen,  have  I  not  succeeded?" 

These  gallant  words  were  always  greeted  by  a  salvo  of 
applause. 

On  another  occassion,  Comte,  while  offering  a  rose  and 
a  pansy  to  a  lady,  said :  "  I  find  you  here,  madam,  exactly 
depicted.  The  rose  represents  your  freshness  and  beauty ; 
the  pansy  your  wit  and  talent." 

He  also  said,  in  allusion  to  the  ace  of  hearts,  which  he  had 
"  passed  "  on  one  of  the  most  beautiful  women  in  the  room : 
"  Will  you  be  kind  enough,  madam,  to  lay  your  hand  on 
your  heart  ?  You  have  only  one  heart  I  presume  ?  Par- 
don my  indiscreet  question,  but  it  was  necessary;  for, 
though  you  have  only  one  heart,  you  might  possess  them  all. " 

Comte  was  equally  gallant  towards  sovereigns. 

At  the  end  of  a  performance  he  gave  at  the  Tuilleries, 
before  Louis  XVIII.,  he  invited  his  majesty  to  select  a 
card  from  the  pack.  It  may  be  that  chance  led  the  king  to 
draw  his  majesty  of  hearts ;  it  may  be,  though,  that  the 
conjurer's  address  produced  this  result.  During  this  time, 
a  servant  placed  on  an  isolated  table  a  vase  filled  with 
flowers. 

Comte  next  took  a  pistol  loaded  with  powder,  in  which 
he  inserted  the  king  of  hearts  as  a  wad ;  then,  turning  to 
his  august  spectator,  he  begged  him  to  fix  his  eye  on  the 
vase,  as  the  card  would  appear  just  over  it.  The  pistol 
was  fired,  and  the  bust  of  Louis  XVIII.  appeared  among 
the  flowers. 

The  King,  not  knowing  how  to  explain  this  unexpected 


THE  KING  OF  HEARTS.  147 

result,  asked  Comte  the  meaning  of  this  strange  appari- 
tion, adding,  in  a  slightly  sarcastic  tone, 

"I  fancy,  sir,  that  your  trick  has  not  ended  as  you 
stated." 

"I  beg  your  majesty's  pardon,"  Comte  replied,  assum- 
ing the  manner  of  a  courtier;  "I  have  quite  kept  my 
promise.  I  pledged  myself  that  the  king  of  hearts  should 
appear  on  that  vase,  and  I  appeal  to  all  Frenchmen 
whether  that  bust  does  not  represent  the  King  of  all 
hearts?" 

It  may  be  easily  supposed  that  this  trick  was  heartily 
applauded  by  the  audience.  In  fact,  the  the  Royal  Journal 
of  the  20th  December,  1814,  thus  describes  the  end  of  the 
performance : 

"  The  whole  audience  exclaimed,  in  reply  M.  Comte, 
'We  recognise  him — it  is  he  —  the  king  of  all  hearts ! 
the  beloved  of  the  French  —  of  the  whole  universe  —  Louis 
XVIII.,  the  august  grandson  of  Henri  Quatre?' 

"  The  King,  much  affected  by  these  warm  acclamations, 
complimented  M.  Comte  on  his  skill. 

"  'It  would  be  a  pity,'  he  said  to  him,  l  to  order  such  a 
talened  sorcerer  to  be  burnt  alive.  You  have  caused  us 
too  much  pleasure  for  us  to  cause  you  pain.  Live  many 
years  for  yourself,  in  the  first  place,  and  then  for  us.' ' 

But  though  Comte  was  so  amiable  to  the  ladies,  he  was 
pitiless  to  gentlemen.  It  would  be  a  long  story  were  I  to 
describe  all  the  spiteful  allusions  and  mystifications  to  which 
his  masculine  spectators  were  exposed.  For  instance,  there 
was  his  ace  of  heart's  trick,  which  he  ended  by  producing 
aces  from  every  part  of  his  victim's  body,  who  knew  not 
what  saint  to  implore  in  order  to  stop  this  avalanche  of 
cards.  Then,  again,  there  was  the  ball-headed  gentlemen 
who  had  politely  lent  his  hat,  and  received  a  volley  of  com- 
pliments of  the  following  nature : 


148  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

"This  article  must  belong  to  you,"  said  Comte,  drawing 
a  wig  from  the  hat.  "Aha,  sir!  it  appears  you  are  a 
family  man.  Here  are  socks  —  then  a  bib  —  a  chemise  — 
a  charming  little  frock,"  and  as  the  public  laughed  heartily, 
"on  my  faith,  a  goody-two-shoes!"  he  added  producing  a 
pair  of  shoes.  "  Nothing  is  wanting  for  the  dress — not  even 
the  stays  and  their  laces.  I  suppose,  sir,  you  thought  you 
could  stay  my  tongue  when  you  placed  that  article  in  your 
hat." 

Ventriloquism  added  a  great  charm  to  Comte's  perform- 
ances, as  it  gave  rise  to  numerous  little  scenes  that  pro- 
duced a  striking  effect.  This  faculty  too  often  suggested 
to  him  curious  mystifications,  the  best  of  them  (if  such  a 
thing  can  ever  be  good)  being  reserved  for  his  travels, 
when  they  served  as  a  puff  of  his  performances,  and  helped 
to  attract  crowds. 

At  Tours,  for  instance,  he  induced  the  people  to  break 
in  four  doors,  in  order  to  rescue  an  unhappy  man  supposed 
to  be  dying  of  hunger.  At  Nevers  he  renewed  the  mira- 
cle of  Balaam's  ass,  by  causing  a  donkey  that  was  weary 
of  its  master's  weight,  to  lift  up  its  voice  in  complaint. 
One  night,  too,  he  caused  a  profound  consternation  in  a 
diligence,  for  a  dozen  brigands  were  heard  at  the  doors 
shouting,  "Money,  or  your  life!"  The  terrified  passen- 
gers hastened  to  hand  their  purses  and  watches  to  Comte, 
who  offered  to  treat  with  the  robbers,  and  they  retired 
apparently  satisfied  with  their  spoil.  The  passengers 
were  glad  to  have  escaped  so  cheaply,  and  the  next 
morning,  to  their  still  greater  satisfaction,  the  ventriloquist 
returned  them  the  tribute  they  had  paid  to  their  fears, 
and  explained  to  them  the  talent  by  which  they  had 
been  duped. 

Another  time,  at  Macon  fair,  he  saw  a  country-woman 


A  PIG  BEWITCHED."  149 

driving  a  pig  before  her,  which  could  hardly  move,  so  laden 
•was  it  with  fat. 

"  What's  the  price  of  your  pig,  my  good  woman  ?" 

"  A  hundred  francs,  my  good  looking  gentleman,  at  your 
service,  if  you  wish  to  buy." 

"  Of  course  I  wish  to  buy ;  but  it  is  a  great  deal  too 
much:  I  can  offer  you  ten  crowns." 

"  I  want  one  hundred  francs,  no  more  and  no  less :  take 
it  or  leave  it." 

"Stay,"  Comte  said,  approaching  the  animal;  "I  am 
sure  your  pig  is  more  reasonable  than  you.  Tell,  me  on 
your  conscience,  my  fine  fellow,  are  you  worth  one  hundred 
francs?" 

"You  are  a  long  way  out,"  the  pig  replied,  in  a  hoarse 
and  hollow  voice ;  "I'm  not  worth  one  hundred  pence.  I 
am  meazled,  and  my  mistress  is  trying  to  take  you  in." 

The  crowd  that  had  assembled  round  the  woman  and  pig 
fell  back  in  terror,  fancying  them  both  bewitched,  while 
Comte  returned  to  his  hotel,  where  the  story  was  told  him 
with  sundry  additions,  and  he  learned  that  some  courageous 
persons  had  gone  up  to  the  woman,  begged  her  to  be  exor- 
cised, and  thus  drive  the  unclean  spirit  out  of  the  pig. 

Still,  Comte  did  not  always  escape  so  easily;  and  ho 
almost  paid  dearly  for  a  trick  he  played  on  some  peasants 
at  Fribourg,  in  Switzerland.  These  fanatics  took  him  for 
a  real  sorcerer,  and  attacked  with  sticks ;  and  they  were 
even  going  to  throw  him  into  a  lime-kiln,  had  not  Comte 
escaped  by  causing  a  terrible  voice  to  issue  from  the  kiln, 
which  routed  them. 

I  will  end  my  account  of  these  amusing  adventures  with 
a  little  anecdote,  in  which  Comte  and  myself  were  in  turn 
mystifier  and  mystified. 

The  celebrated   ventriloquist   paid  me  a  visit  at  the 


150  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

Palais  Royal,  and  I  accompanied  him  to  the  foot  of  the 
stairs  on  his  departure.  Comte  walked  down  before  me,  still 
talking,  so  that  the  pockets  of  his  coat  were  at  my  mercy. 
The  opportunity  was  too  good  to  neglect  the  chance  of 
playing  a  trick  on  my  talented  confrere,  so  I  filched  his 
handkerchief  and  a  handsome  gold  snuff-box  :  and  I  took 
care  to  turn  the  pocket  inside  out,  as  a  proof  that  my  per- 
formance had  been  properly  executed. 

I  was  laughing  at  the  comic  result  my  trick  must  have 
when  I  returned  Comte  his  property  ;  but  it  was  "  diamond 
cut  diamond:"  for,  while  I  was  thus  violating  the  laws  of 
hospitality,  Comte  was  scheming  against  me.  I  had 
scarce  concealed  the  handkerchief  and  box,  when  I  heard 
a  strange  voice  on  the  first  floor  landing. 

"  Monsieur  Robert-Houdin,  will  you  be  kind  enough  to 
step  up  to  the  box-office:  I  wish  to  speak  to  you." 

My  readers  will  guess  that  the  ventriloquist  had  played 
me  a  trick ;  indeed,  on  reaching  the  office,  I  only  found 
the  clerk,  who  could  not  understand  what  I  was  talking 
about.  I  perceived,  too  late  that  I  was  victimised,  and  I 
heard  Comte  celebrating  his  victory  by  shouts  of  laughter. 
For  a  moment,  I  confess  I  felt  vexed  at  having  been  taken 
in,  but  I  soon  regained  my  equanimity  on  thinking  I 
might  have  the  best  of  it  yet.  So  I  went  down  stairs  very 
calmly. 

"What  did  that  person  want  ?"  Comte  asked,  with  ill- 
repressed  delight. 

"  Can't  you  guess  ?" 

"I?  — no." 

"  It  was  a  penitent  thief,  who  begged  me  to  return  you 
the  articles  he  had  filched  from  you.  Here  they  are,  my 
master !" 

"  I  prefer  it  to  end  so !"  Comte  said,  returning  his 


DIAMOND  CUT  DIAMOND.  151 

pocket  to  its  place.  "  We  are  now  quits,  and  I  hope  we 
shall  always  be  good  friends." 

from  all  the  preceding  remarks  it  may  be  concluded 
that  the  fundamental  principles  of  Comte's  performances 
were  mystifying  gentlemen  (sovereigns  excepted),  compli- 
menting ladies,  and  jesting  with  everybody.  Comte  was 
right  in  employing  these  means,  as  he  generally  gained 
his  object;  for  he  delighted  and  raised  a  laugh.  At  this 
period  French  manners  justified  such  behavior,  and  the 
professor,  by  flattering  the  taste  and  instincts  of  the 
public,  was  sure  to  please. 

There  has  been  a  great  change  since,  and  puns  are  no 
longer  held  in  such  esteem ;  banished  from  good  society, 
they  have  sought  refuge  in  studios,  when  the  pupils  too 
often  make  an  immoderate  use  of  them,  and  though  they 
may  be  permitted  now  and  then  among  intimate  friends, 
they  are  not  proper  in  a  performance  of  sleight-of-hand. 
The  reason  is  very  simple  :  not  only  do  puns  raise  a  belief 
that  the  artist  fancies  himself  a  wit,  which  may  be  injuri- 
ous to  him,  but,  if  he  succeed  in  raising  a  laugh,  it  weakens 
the  interest  felt  in  his  experiments. 

It  is  a  recognised  fact  that,  in  those  performances  where 
imagination  plays  the  chief  part,  "  astonishment  is  a  hun- 
dred-fold better  than  a  silly  laugh;"  for,  though  the  mind 
may  remember  what  has  delighted  it,  laughter  leaves  no 
trace  on  the  memory. 

Symbolical  or  complimentary  language  is  also  com- 
pletely out  of  fashion,  at  least  the  age  does  not  err  in 
excess  of  gallantry,  and  "  musky  "  compliments  would  be 
badly  received  in  public.  I  have  always  thought,  too, 
that  ladies  visit  a  performance  like  mine  in  order  to  re- 
fresh their  minds,  and  not  to  be  put  in  evidence  them- 
selves. They  possibly  prefer  to  remain  simple  lookers-on 
rather  than  expose  themselves  to  florid  compliments. 


152  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

As  for  mystification,  a  more  powerful  pen  than  mine 
must  undertake  its  apology. 

In  saying  this,  I  have  no  wish  to  cast  censure  on  Comte. 
I  am  writing  at  this  moment  in  accordance  with  the  spirit 
of  my  age  ;  Comte  acted  in  accordance  with  his  ;  we  both 
succeeded,  though  differing  in  our  treatment,  and  this  only 
proves  that  "  all  styles  are  good  except  that  which  is 
wearisome." 

These  performances  of  Comte's,  however,  inflamed  my 
imagination ;  I  only  dreamed  of  theatres,  conjuring,  me- 
chanism, automata,  &c. ;  I  was  impatient  to  take  my  place 
among  the  adepts  of  magic,  and  make  myself  a  name  in 
the  marvellous  art.  The  time  I  required  in  forming  a 
determination  seemed  to  me  so  much  stolen  from  my  future 
success.  My  success !  I  did  not  know  what  trials  I 
should  undergo  ere  I  merited  it.  I  had  no  suspicion  of 
the  toil,  the  care,  and  trouble  which  I  should  have  to  pay 
for  it. 

Still,  I  resolved  on  continuing  my  studies  of  automata 
and  instruments  suited  to  produce  magical  illusions. 
Though  I  had  seen  many  of  them  while  with  Torrini,  I 
had  many  more  to  learn,  for  the  stock  of  conjuring  tricks 
in  those  days  was  enormous.  Fortunately  I  found  an 
opportunity  of  materially  abridging  my  studies. 

I  had  noticed,  while  passing  along  the  Rue  Richelieu, 
a  modest  little  shop,  in  front  of  which  conjuring  apparatus 
was  exposed  for  sale.  This  was  a  piece  of  good  luck,  so 
I  bought  some  of  the  things,  and  while  paying  repeated 
visits  to  the  master  of  the  shop,  under  pretext  of  asking 
information,  I  got  into  his  good  graces,  and  he  grew  to 
look  on  me  as  a  friend. 

Father  Roujol  (such  was  his  name)  was  perfectly  ac- 
quainted with  his  trade,  and  he  held  the  confidence  of 


FATHER  ROUJOL.  153 

every  conjurer  of  note ;  hence,  he  could  give  me  much 
valuable  information,  so  I  became  more  polite  than  ever, 
and  the  worthy  man  soon  initiated  me  into  all  his  mys- 
teries. But  my  repeated  visits  to  the  shop  had  another 
object  as  well,  for  I  wished  to  meet  some  of  the  masters 
of  the  art  who  could  increase  my  knowledge. 

Unfortunately,  my  old  friend's  shop  was  not  so  visited 
as  before.  The  revolution  of  1830  had  turned  persons' 
ideas  to  more  serious  matters  than  "physical  amuse- 
ments," and  the  greater  number  of  conjurers  had  wan- 
dered into  strange  countries.  Old  Roujol's  good  times 
had,  therefore,  passed  away,  which  rendered  him  very 
gloomy. 

"Things  are  not  as  they  used  to  be,"  he  would  say, 
"  and  it  might  really  be  fancied  the  jugglers  had  juggled 
themselves  away,  for  I  don't  see  a  single  one.  Will  the 

time  ever  return,"  he  added,  "when  the  Due  de  M • 

did  not  disdain  to  visit  my  humble  shop,  and  remain  here 
for  hours  talking  to  me  and  my  numerous  visitors.  Ah, 
that  was  a  time !  when  all  the  first  conjurers  and  ama- 
teurs formed  a  brilliant  club  here ;  for  each  of  these 
masters,  desirous  of  proving  his  superiority  over  the 
others,  showed  his  best  tricks  and  his  utmost  skill." 

I  felt  the  old  gentleman's  regret  equally  with  himself,  for 
I  should  have  revelled  in  such  society,  as  I  would  have  walk- 
ed any  time  twenty  leagues  for  the  sake  of  talking  with  a 
professor.  Still,  I  had  the  luck  to  form  here  the  acquain- 
tance of  Jules  de  Rove're,  the  first  to  employ  a  title  now 
generally  given  to  fashionable  conjurers.  Being  of  noble 
birth,  he  desired  a  title  in  accordance  with  it ;  but,  as  he 
had  rejected  with  disdain  the  vulgar  name  of  eseamoteur, 
and  as,  too,  that  of  pliysicien  was  frequently  used  by  hia 
rivals,  he  was  compelled  to  create  a  title  for  himself. 


154  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-IIOUDIN. 

One  day  the  pompous  title  of  "  PRESTIDIGITATEUR  " 
was  visible  on  an  enormous  poster,  which  also  conde- 
scended to  supply  the  derivation  of  this  breath-stopping 
word,  presto  digiti  (activity  of  the  fingers).  Then  came 
the  details  of  the  performance,  intermingled  with  Latin 
quotations,  which  must  attract  the  attention  of  the  public 
by  evidencing  the  learning  of  the  conjurer  —  I  beg  pardon, 
prestidigitator. 

This  word,  as  well  as  prestidigitation,  due  to  the  same 
author,  were  soon  seized  upon  by  Jules  de  Rov^re's  rivals, 
who  liked  a  good  mouthful  too.  The  Academy  itself  fol- 
lowed this  example  by  sanctioning  the  formation  of  the 
word,  and  thus  handing  it  down  to  posterity.  I  am  bound 
to  add,  though,  that  this  word,  originally  so  pompous,  is 
no  longer  a  distinction,  for,  as  the  most  humble  jugglers 
were  at  liberty  to  appreciate  it,  it  follows  that  conjuring 
and  prestidigitation  have  become  synonymous.  The  con- 
jurer who  requires  a  title  should  seek  it  in  his  own  merit, 
and  recognise  the  sound  truth  that  "  it  is  better  for  a  man 
to  honor  his  profession  than  to  be  honored  by  it."  For  my 
own  part,  I  never  made  any  distinction  between  the  two 
names,  and  I  shall  employ  them  indiscriminately,  until 
some  new  Jules  de  Rov^re  arrive  to  enrich  the  Dictionary 
of  the  French  Academy. 


CELEBRATED  AUTOMATA.  155 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Celebrated  Automata — A  Brazen  Fly — The  Artificial  Man — Albertus 
Magnus  and  St.  Thomas  d'Aquinas — Vaucanson  —  His  Duck  —  His 
Flute-Player — Curious  Details  —  The  Automaton  Chess-Player — In- 
teresting Episode  —  Catherine  II.  and  M.  de  Kempelen  —  I  repair  the 
Componium — Unexpected  Success. 

OWING  to  my  persevering  researches  I  had  nothing  left 
to  learn  in  conjuring;  but,  in  order  to  carry  out  my 
scheme,  I  had  to  study  the  principles  of  a  science  on 
which  I  greatly  depended  for  the  success  of  my  future 
performances.  I  allude  to  the  science,  or  rather  art,  of 
making  automata. 

While  occupied  with  this  idea  I  made  active  investiga- 
tions ;  I  applied  to  the  public  libraries  and  their  keepers, 
whom  my  tenacious  importunity  drove  into  despair.  But 
all  the  information  I  collected  only  brought  me  descrip- 
tions of  mechanical  toys,  far  less  ingenious  than  certain 
playthings  of  the  present  day,  or  absurd  statements  of 
chefs-d'oeuvre  published  in  the  dark  ages.  My  readers 
may  judge  from  the  following : 

I  found,  in  a,  work  bearing  the  title  "  Apologie  pour  les 
Grands  Homines  Accuses  de  Magie,"  that  "Jean  de  Mont- 
royal  presented  to  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  an  iron  fly, 
which  made  a  solemn  circuit  round  its  inventor's  head,  and 
then  reposed  from  its  fatigue  on  his  arm."  Such  a  fly  is 
rather  extraordinary,  yet  I  have  something  better  to  tell 
my  readers  —  still  about  a  fly. 


15G  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

Gervais,  Chancellor  to  the  Emperor  Otho  III.,  in  hia 
book  entitled  "  Otia  Imperatoris,"  informs  us  that  "the 
sage  Virgilius,  Bishop  of  Naples,  made  a  brass  fly,  which 
he  placed  on  one  of  the  city  gates,  and  that  this  mechani- 
cal fly,  trained  like  a  shepherd's  dog,  prevented  any  other 
fly  entering  Naples ;  so  much  so,  that  during  eight  years 
the  meat  exposed  for  sale  in  the  market  was  never  once 
tainted." 

How  much  should  we  regret  that  this  marvellous  auto- 
maton has  not  survived  to  our  day  ?  How  the  butchers, 
and  still  more  their  customers,  would  thank  the  learned 
bishop  !  Pass  we  to  another  marvel : 

Francis  Picus  relates  that  "Roger  Bacon,  aided  by 
Thomas  Bungey,  his  brother  in  religion,  after  having  ren- 
dered their  bodies  equal  and  tempered  by  chemistry,  em- 
ployed the  Speculum  Amuchesi  to  construct  a  brazen  head 
which  should  tell  them  if  there  were  any  mode  of  enclosing 
the  whole  of  England  by  a  high  wall.  They  forged  at  it 
for  seven  years  without  relaxation,  but  misfortune  willed 
it  that  when  the  head  spoke  the  two  monks  did  not  hear 
it,  as  they  were  engaged  on  something  else." 

I  have  asked  myself  a  hundred  times  how  the  two  intre- 
pid blacksmiths  knew  the  head  had  spoken,  when  they 
were  not  present  to  hear  it.  I  never  discovered  any  other 
solution  than  this :  it  was,  doubtlessly,  because  their  bodies 
were  equalized  and  tempered  by  chemistry. 

But  here  is  a  far  more  astounding  marvel. 

Tostat,  in  his  "  Commentaires  sur  1'Enode,"  states  that 
"  Albertus  Magnus*  Provincial  of  the  Dominicans,  at  Co- 
logne, constructed  a  brass  man,  which  he  worked  at  con- 
tinually for  thirty  years.  This  work  was  performed  under 
various  constellations  and  according  to  the  laws  of  perspec- 
tive." 


VAUCANSON.  157 

When  the  sun  was  in  the  sign  of  the  Zodiac  the  eyes  of 
this  automaton  melted  metals,  on  which  the  characters  of 
the  same  sign  were  traced.  This  intelligent  machine  was 
equally  gifted  with  motion  and  speech,  and  it  revealed  to 
Albertus  Magnus  some  of  his  most  important  secrets. 
Unfortunately,  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  Albertus's  pupil, 
taking  this  statue  for  the  handiwork  of  the  devil,  smashed 
it  with  a  big  stick. 

As  a  finale  to  these  fables,  which  are  well  fitted  to  figure 
among  the  marvels  performed  by  Perrault's  fairies,  I  will 
quote  from  page  252  of  the  "Journal  des  Savants"  for 
1677 :  "  The  artificial  man  of  Reysolius,  a  statue  so  re- 
sembling the  human  form,  that,  with  the  exception  of  the 
operations  of  the  soul,  everything  that  takes  place  in  the 
body  may  be  witnessed." 

What  a  pity  the  mechanician  stopped  so  soon !  for  it 
would  have  cost  him  so  little,  while  making  so  exquisite  a 
resemblance  to  the  fairest  work  of  the  Creator,  to  add  to 
his  automaton  a  soul  moving  by  clockwork  ! 

This  quotation  does  much  honor  to  the  savants  who  ac- 
cepted the  responsibility  of  such  a  statement,  and  is  a  fur- 
ther proof  how  history  is  written. 

It  may  be  easily  supposed  these  works  furnished  me  no 
guide  to  the  art  I  so  much  wished  to  study ;  and  although 
I  continued  my  inquiries,  I  only  attained  the  unsatisfac- 
tory result  that  nothing  serious  had  been  written  on  the 
subject  of  automata. 

"What!"  I  said  to  myself,  "can  it  be  possible  that  the 
marvellous  science  which  raised  Vaucanson's  name  so  high 
—  the  science  whose  ingenious  combinations  can  animate 
inert  matter,  and  impart  to  it  a  species  of  existence  —  is 
the  only  one  without  its  archives?" 

When  about  to  give  up  the  subject  in  despair,  I  stumbled 


158  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

on  a  memoir  of  the  inventor  of  the  "Automaton  Duck." 
This  memoir,  bearing  date  1738,  is  addressed  by  the  au- 
thor to  the  members  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences.  In  it 
will  he  found  a  learned  description  of  his  flute-player,  as 
well  as  a  report  of  the  Academy,  which  I  here  transcribe. 

Extract  from   the   Registers  of  the  Royal  Academy   of 

Sciences  for  April  30,  1738  : 

"  The  Academy,  after  hearing  M.  de  Vaucanson's  me- 
moir read,  containing  a  description  of  a  wooden  statue, 
copied  from  Coysvoix's  marble  fawn,  which  plays  twelve 
different  airs  on  a  German  flute  with  a  precision  deserving 
of  public  attention,  was  of  opinion  that  this  machine  was 
extremely  ingenious ;  that  the  inventor  had  employed 
novel  and  simple  means  both  to  give  the  fingers  the  neces- 
sary motion  and  to  modify  the  wind  entering  the  flute,  by 
augmenting  or  diminishing  its  velocity,  according  to  the 
various  tones ;  by  varying  the  arrangement  of  the  lips, 
and  setting  a  valve  in  motion  to  perform  the  functions  of 
the  tongue ;  lastly,  by  artificially  imitating  all  that  a  man 
is  obliged  to  do  ;  and  that,  in  addition,  M.  de  Vaucanson's 
memoir  possessed  all  the  clearness  and  perception  such 
matter  is  capable  of,  proving  the  intelligence  of  the  author, 
and  his  great  knowledge  of  the  different  branches  of  me- 
chanism. In  confirmation  of  which  I  have  signed  the  pre- 
sent certificate.  FONTENELLE, 

"  Perpetual  Secretary,  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences. 

"Paris,  May  3,  1738." 

After  this  report  comes  a  letter  of  Vaucanson's,  ad- 
dressed to  the  Abbe'  D.  F.,  in  which  he  informs  him  of  his 
intention  of  presenting  to  the  public  on  Easter  Monday — 


I  THE  AUTOMATON  DUCK.  159 

1.  A  player  of  the  German  flute. 

2.  A  player  of  the  tambourine. 

3.  An  artificial  duck. 

"In  this  duck,"  the  celebrated  automatist  writes,  "will 
be  noticed  the  mechanism  of  the  viscera,  intended  to  per- 
form the  functions  of  eating,  drinking  and  digesting.  The 
action  of  all  the  parts  is  exactly  imitated.  The  bird  puts 
out  its  head  to  take  up  the  seed,  swallows  it,  digests  it, 
and  evacuates  it  by  the  ordinary  channels. 

"All  thoughtful  persons  will  understand  the  difficulty 
of  making  my  automaton  perform  so  many  different  move- 
ments, as  when  it  stands  on  its  legs  and  moves  its  head  to 
the  right  and  left.  They  will  also  see  that  this  animal 
drinks,  dabbles  with  its  bill,  quacks  like  the  living  duck, 
and,  in  short,  is  precisely  similar  in  every  respect." 

I  was  the  more  surprised  at  the  contents  of  the  memoir, 
as  it  was  the  first  trustworthy  information  I  had  gained 
about  automata.  The  description  of  the  flute  player  gave 
me  a  high  opinion  of  the  inventor's  talent ;  but  I  much 
regretted  finding  so  short  an  account  of  the  mechanical 
combinations  of  the  duck. 

For  a  time,  I  contented  myself  with  admiring  and  be- 
lieving in  the  great  master's  work,  but,  in  1844,  Vaucan- 
son's  duck  was  exhibited  in  a  room  at  the  Palais  Royal.* 
Of  course  I  was  one  of  the  first  to  visit  it,  and  was  much 
struck  by  its  skillful  and  learned  formation.  Some  time 
after,  one  of  the  wings  having  been  injured,  the  duck  was 
sent  to  me  to  repair,  and  I  was  initiated  into  the  famous 
mystery  of  digestion.  To  my  great  surprise,  I  found  that 

*  After  Vaucanson's  death,  his  works  were  dispersed  and  lost,  with 
the  exception  of  the  duck,  which,  after  remaining  for  a  long  time  in  a 
garret  at  Berlin,  saw  light  again  in  1840,  and  was  purchased  by  a  M. 
George  Tiets,  who  spent  four  years  in  repairing  it. 


1GO  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

the  illustrious  master  had  not  disdained  to  have  recourse 
to  a  trick  which  a  conjurer  would  have  been  proud  of. 
The  digestion,  so  pompously  announced  in  the  memoir, 
was  only  a  mystification  —  a  real  canard,  in  fact.  De- 
cidedly, Vaucanson  was  not  only  my  master  in  mechanism, 
but  I  must  bow  before  his  genius  for  juggling. 

The  trick  was  as  simple  as  it  was  interesting.  A  vase, 
containing  seed  steeped  in  water,  was  placed  before  the 
bird.  The  motion  of  the  bill  in  dabbling  crushed  the  food, 
and  facilitated  its  introduction  into  a  pipe  placed  beneath 
the  lower  bill.  The  water  and  seed  thus  swallowed  fell 
into  a  box  placed  under  the  bird's  stomach,  which  was 
emptied  every  three  or  four  days.  The  other  part  of  the 
operation  was  thus  effected :  Bread-crumb,  colored  green, 
was  expelled  by  a  forcing  pump,  and  carefully  caught  on 
a  silver  salver  as  the  result  of  artificial  digestion.  This 
was  handed  round  to  be  admired,  while  the  ingenious 
trickster  laughed  in  his  sleeve  at  the  credulity  of  the 
public.  But,  before  leaving  this  subject,  I  must  give  a 
short  biographical  notice  of  this  illustrious  man. 

Jacques  de  Vaucanson  was  born  at  Grenoble  on  the 
24th  February,  1709,  of  a  noble  family,  and  his  taste  for 
mechanism  was  developed  at  an  early  age.  In  1730,  the 
flute-player  at  the  Tuilleries  suggested  to  him  the  idea  of 
constructing  on  this  model  an  automaton  which  should 
really  play  the  flute,  and  he  spent  four  years  in  perfecting 
it.  The  story  runs  that  Vaucanson's  valet  was  the  only 
person  acquainted  with  his  secret,  and  at  the  first  notes 
produced  by  the  flute-player,  the  faithful  servant  fell  at 
his  master's  feet,  as  if  he  were  more  than  mortal,  and  they 
embraced  with  tears  of  joy. 

The  duck  and  tambourine-player  soon  followed,  and 
were  chiefly  intended  to  speculate  on  public  curiosity. 


THE  ENDLESS  CHAIN.  161 

Though  noble  by  birth,  Vaucanson  exhibited  his  automata 
at  the  fair  of  Saint  Germain  and  at  Paris,  where  his  re- 
ceipts were  enormous.  He  is  also  said  to  have  invented  a 
loom  on  which  a  donkey  worked  cloth ;  this  he  made  in 
revenge  upon  the  silk-weavers  of  Lyons,  who  had  stoned 
him  because  he  attempted  to  simplify  the  ordinary  loom. 
We  also  owe  to  Vaucanson  a  chain  that  still  bears  his 
name,  and  a  machine  to  make  meshes  of  equal  size. 

It  is  also  said  he  invented  for  the  performance  of  Mar- 
montel's  Cleopatra,  an  asp  which  fastened  itself  with  a 
hiss  on  the  bosom  of  the  actress  who  played  the  principal 
character.  On  the  first  performance  of  the  tragedy,  a 
jester,  more  struck  by  the  hissing  of  the  automaton  than 
by  the  beauty  of  the  tragedy,  exclaimed,  "  I  am  of  the 
asp's  opinion !" 

This  illustrious  mechanician  retained  all  his  activity  to 
the  last  moment  of  his  life.  While  dangerously  ill,  he 
devoted  himself  to  his  machine  for  making  his  endless 
chain. 

"Do  not  lose  a  minute,"  he  said  to  his  workmen;  "I 
fear  I  may  not  live  long  enough  to  explain  my  idea  thor- 
oughly." 

Eight  days  later,  on  the  21st  of  November,  1782,  he 
died,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three ;  but,  before  leaving  this 
world,  he  had  the  consolation  of  seeing  his  machine  at 
work. 

One  piece  of  good  luck  never  arrives  without  another ; 
thus,  in  1844, 1  also  saw  at  the  house  of  a  mechanician  of 
the  name  of  Cronier,  at  Belleville,  the  famous  chess-player, 
who  defeated  the  whole  chess  world.  I  never  saw  it  at 
work,  but  since  then  I  have  received  some  information 
about  the  automaton  of  a  certain  degree  of  interest,  and  I 
trust  my  readers  will  feel  the  same  surprise  as  I  did  when 
I  heard  it.  L 


162  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

My  story  commences  in  Russia :  the  first  division  of 
Poland  in  1792  had  produced  a  certain  fermentation,  the 
effects  of  which  were  felt  some  years  later.  In  1796,  a 
revolt  broke  out  in  a  half-Russian,  half-Polish  regiment 
stationed  at  Riga,  at  the  head  of  the  rebels  being  an  offiper 
of  the  name  of  Worousky,  a  man  of  great  talent  and 
energy.  He  was  of  short  stature,  but  well  built ;  and  he 
exercised  such  influence,  that  the  troops  sent  to  suppress 
the  revolt  were  beaten  back  with  considerable  loss.  How- 
ever, reinforcements  came  from  St.  Petersburg,  and  the 
insurgents  were  defeated  in  a  pitched  battle.  A  great 
number  perished,  and  the  rest  took  to  flight  across  the 
marshes,  where  the  soldiers  pursued  them,  with  orders  to 
grant  no  -quarter. 

In  this  rout  "Worousky  had  both  thighs  shattered  by  a 
cannon-ball,  and  fell  on  the  battle-field;  however,  he 
escaped  from  the  general  massacre  by  throwing  himself 
into  a  ditch  behind  a  hedge.  At  nightfall,  Worousky 
dragged  himself  along  with  great  difficulty  to  the  adjacent 
house  of  a  physician  of  the  name  of  Osloff,  whose  benevo- 
lence was  well  known,  and  the  doctor,  moved  by  his  suf- 
ferings, attended  upon,  and  promised  to  conceal  him.  His 
wound  was  serious,  but  the  doctor  felt  confident  of  curing 
him,  until  gangrene  set  in,  and  his  life  could  only  be  saved 
at  the  cost  of  half  his  body.  The  amputation  was  suc- 
cessful, and  Worousky  saved. 

During  this  time,  M.  de  Kempelen,  a  celebrated  Viennese 
mechanician,  came  to  Russia  to  pay  a  visit  to  M.  Osloff, 
with  whom  he  had  been  long  acquainted.  He  was  travel- 
ling about  to  learn  foreign  languages,  the  study  of  which 
he  afterwards  displayed  in  his  splendid  work  on  the 
"Mechanism  of  Words,"  published  at  Vienna  in  1791. 
M.  de  Kempelen  stopped  a  short  time  in  every  country  the 


THE  CHESS-PLAYER.  163 

language  of  which  he  desired  to  learn,  and  his  aptitude 
was  so  great- that  he  acquired  it  very  speedily. 

This  visit  was  the  more  agreeable  to  the  doctor,  as  for 
some  time  he  had  been  alarmed  as  to  the  consequences  of 
the  noble  action  he  had  performed ;  he  feared  being  com- 
promised if  it  were  found  out,  and  his  embarrassment  was 
extreme,  for,  living  alone  with  an  old  housekeeper,  he  had 
no  one  to  consult  or  help  him.  Hence,  he  told  M.  de 
Keuipelen  his  secret,  and  begged  his  aid.  Though  at  first 
startled  by  sharing  such  a  secret  —  for  he  knew  that  a 
reward  was  offered  for  the  insurgent  chief,  and  that  the 
act  of  humanity  he  was  about  to  help  in  might  send  him 
to  Siberia  —  still,  M.  de  Kempelen,  on  seeing  Worousky's 
mutilated  body,  felt  moved  with  compassion,  and  began 
contriving  some  plan  to  secure  his  escape. 

Dr.  Osloff  was  a  passionate  lover  of  chess,  and  had 
played  numerous  games  with  his  patient  during  his  tardy 
convalesence ;  but  Worousky  was  so  strong  at  the  game 
that  the  doctor  was  always  defeated.  Then  Kempelen 
joined  the  doctor  in  trying  to  defeat  the  skillful  player, 
but  it  was  of  no  use  ;  Worousky  was  always  the  conqueror. 
His  superiority  gave  M.  de  Kempelen  the  idea  of  the  fa- 
mous Automaton  Chess-player.  In  an  instant  his  plan 
was  formed,  and  he  sat  to  work  immediately.  The  most 
remarkable  circumstance  is,  that  this  wonderful  chef- 
d'osuvre,  which  astonished  the  whole  world,  was  invented 
and  finished  with  three  months. 

M.  de  Kempelen  was  anxious  his  host  should  make  the 
first  essay  of  his  automaton ;  so,  he  invited  him  to  play  a 
game  on  the  10th  of  October,  1796.  The  automaton  rep- 
resented a  Turk  of  the  natural  size,  wearing  the  national 
costume,  and  seated  behind  a  box  of  the  shape  of  a  chest 
of  drawers.  In  the  middle  of  the  top  of  the  box  was  a 
chess-board. 


164  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

Prior  to  commencing  the  game,  the  artist  opened  seve- 
ral doors  in  the  chest,  and  M.  Osloff  could  see  inside  a 
large  number  of  wheels,  pulleys,  cylinders,  springs,  &c., 
occupying  the  larger  part.  At  the  same  time,  he  opened 
a  long  drawer,  from  which  he  produced  the  chessmen  and 
a  cushion,  on  which  the  Turk  was  to  rest  his  arm.  This 
examination  ended,  the  robe  of  the  automaton  was  raised, 
and  the  interior  of  the  body  could  also  be  inspected. 

The  doors  being  then  closed,  M.  de  Kempelen  wound  up 
one  of  the  wheels  with  a  key  he  inserted  in  a  hole  in  the 
chest ;  after  which  the  Turk,  with  a  gentle  nod  of  saluta- 
tion, placed  his  hand  on  one  of  the  pieces,  raised  it,  de- 
posited it  on  another  square,  and  laid  his  arm  on  the 
cushion  before  him.  The  inventor  had  stated  that,  as  the 
automaton  could  not  speak,  it  would  signify  check  to  the 
king  by  three  nods,  and  to  the  queen  by  two. 

The  doctor  moved  in  his  turn,  and  waited  patiently  till 
his  adversary,  whose  movements  had  all  the  dignity  of  the 
Sultan  he  represented,  had  moved.  The  game,  though 
slow  at  first,  soon  grew  animated,  and  the  doctor  found  he 
had  to  deal  with  a  tremendous  opponent ;  for,  in  spite  of 
all  his  efforts  to  defeat  the  figure,  his  game  was  growing 
quite  desperate.  It  is  true,  though,  that  for  some  minutes 
past,  the  doctor's  attention  had  appeared  to  be  distracted, 
and  one  idea  seemed  to  occupy  him.  But  while  hesitating 
whether  he  should  impart  his  thoughts  to  his  friend,  the 
figure  gave  three  nods.  The  game  was  over. 

"By  Jove!"  the  loser  said,  with  a  tinge  of  vexation, 
which  the  sight  of  the  inventor's  smiling  face  soon  dis- 
pelled, "  if  I  were  not  certain  Worousky  is  at  this  mo- 
ment in  bed,  I  should  believe  I  had  been  playing  with 
him.  His  head  alone  is  capable  of  inventing  such  a 
checkmate.  And  besides,"  said  the  doctor,  looking  fixed- 


AN  INGENIOUS  SCHEME.  165 

ly  at  M.  de  Kempelen,  "  can  you  tell  me  why  your  auto- 
maton plays  with  the  left  hand,  just  like  Worousky  ?"* 

The  mechanician  began  laughing,  and  not  wishing  to 
prolong  this  mystification,  the  prelude  to  so  many  others, 
he  confessed  to  his  friend  that  he  had  really  been  playing 
with  Worousky. 

"But  where  the  deuce  have  you  put  him,  then?"  the 
doctor  said,  looking  round  to  try  and  discover  his  oppo- 
nent. 

The  inventor  laughed  heartily. 

"  Well !  do  you  not  recognize  me  ?"  the  Turk  exclaimed, 
holding  out  his  left  hand  to  the  doctor  in  reconciliation, 
while  Kempelen  raised  the  robe,  and  displayed  the  poor 
cripple  stowed  away  in  the  body  of  the  automaton. 

M.  Osloff  could  no  longer  keep  his  countenance,  and  he 
joined  the  othqrs  in  their  laughter.  But  he  was  the  first 
to  stop,  for  he  wanted  an  explanation. 

"  But  how  do  you  manage  to  render  Worousky  invisi- 
ble?" 

M.  de  Kempelen  then  explained  IIOAV  he  concealed  the 
living  automaton  before  it  entered  the  Turk's  body. 

"  See  here  !"  he  said,  opening  the  chest,  "  these  wheels, 
pulleys  and  cranks  occupying  a  portion  of  the  chest,  are 
only  a  deception.  The  frames  that  support  them  are 
hung  on  hinges,  and  can  be  turned  back  to  leave  space 
for  the  player  while  you  were  examining  the  body  of  the 
automaton." 

"  When  this  inspection  was  ended,  and  as  soon  as  the 
robe  was  allowed  to  fall,  Worousky  entered  the  Turk's 
body  we  have  just  examined,  and,  while  I  was  showing 
you  the  box  and  the  machinery,  he  was  taking  his  time  to 

*  The  automaton  chess-player  always  used  the  left  hand — a  defect 
falsely  attributed  to  the  carelessness  of  the  constructor. 


166  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

pass  his  arms  and  hands  into  those  of  the  figure.  You 
can  understand  that,  owing  to  the  size  of  the  neck,  which 
is  hidden  by  the  broad  and  enormous  collar,  he  can  easily 
pass  his  head  into  this  mask,  and  see  the  chess-board,  I 
must  add,  that  when  I  pretend  to  wind  up  the  machine,  it 
is  only  to  drown  the  sound  of  Worousky's  movements." 

"Very  good,  then,"  the  doctor  replied,  to  show  he  per- 
fectly understood  the  plan  ;  "  while  I  was  examining  the 
chest,  my  confounded  Worousky  was  in  the  Turk's  body, 
and  when  the  robe  was  lifted,  he  had  passed  into  the  chest. 
I  frankly  allow,"  M.  Osloff  added,  "  that  I  was  done  by 
this  ingenious  arrangement;  but  I  console  myself  with 
the  idea  that  cleverer  persons  than  I  will  be  deceived." 

The  three  friends  were  the  more  delighted  by  the  result 
of  this  private  rehearsal,  as  this  instrument  furnished  an 
excellent  means  of  escape  for  the  poor  prisoner,  and  at 
the  same  time  assured  him  a  livelihood.  The  same  evening 
the  road  by  which  the  frontier  should  be  reached  was 
agreed  on,  as  well  as  the  precautions  to  be  taken  during 
the  journey.  It  was  also  arranged  that,  in  order  to  arouse 
no  suspicions,  performances  should  be  given  in  all  the 
towns  they  passed  through,  beginning  with  Toula,  Ka- 
louga,  Smolensk,  &c. 

A  month  later,  Worousky,  now  entirely  recovered,  gave 
a  first  specimen  of  his  marvellous  skill  to  a  numerous  au- 
dience at  Toula.  I  possess  a  copy  of  the  original  bill, 
•which  was  given  me  by  M.  Hessler,  nephew  of  Dr.  Osloff, 
who  also  supplied  me  with  all  these  details.  Worousky 
won  every  game  he  played  at  Toula,  and  the  papers  were 
full  of  praises  of  the  automaton.  Assured  of  success  by 
the  brilliancy  of  their  debut,  M.  de  Kempelen  and  his 
companion  proceeded  towards  the  frontier. 

It  was  necessary  that  Worousky  should  be  concealed 


THE  ESCAPE.  167 

from  sight  somewhere  even  when  travelling ;  hence  he  was 
literally  packed  up.  The  enormous  chest  in  which  the 
automaton  was  conveyed  only  travelled  very  slowly,  appa- 
rently through  fear  of  breaking  the  machinery,  but  in 
reality  to  protect  the  skillful  chess-player  who  was  shut  up 
in  it,  while  air-holes  were  made  in  the  side  of  this  singular 
post-chaise  to  enable  to  enable  Worousky  to  breathe. 

The  poor  cripple  endured  all  this  inconvenience  calmly, 
in  the  hope  of  soon  being  out  of  reach  of  the  Muscovite 
police,  and  arriving  safe  and  sound  at  the  end  of  this 
painful  journey.  The  fatigue,  it  must  be  granted,  was 
considerably  alleviated  by  the  enormous  receipts  they 
netted  by  the  exhibition. 

Our  travellers  had  arrived  at  Vitebsk,  on  the  road  to 
the  Prussian  frontier,  when  one  morning  Kempelen  rushed 
into  the  room  where  Worousky  was  concealed. 

"A  frightful  misfortune  hangs  over  us,"  the  mechani- 
cian said,  in  a  terrible  state  of  alarm,  and  showing  a  letter 
dated  St.  Petersburg.  "Heaven  knows  how  we  shall 
escape  it !  The  Empress  Catherine,  having  heard  through 
the  papers  of  the  automaton's  wonderful  talent,  desires  to 
play  a  game  with  it,  and  requests  me  to  bring  it  straight 
to  the  imperial  palace.  We  must  hit  on  some  plan  to 
evade  this  dangerous  honor." 

To  Kempelen's  extreme  surprise,  Worousky  heard  this 
great  news  very  calmly,  and  even  seemed  to  be  pleased 
at  it. 

"  Refuse  such  a  visit ! — by  no  means:  the- wishes  of  the 
Czarina  are  orders  which  cannot  be  infringed  without 
peril ;  we  must,  therefore,  obey  her  as  quickly  as  possible. 
Your  zeal  will  have  the  double  effect  of  gaining  her  favor, 
and  removing  any  suspicions  that  might  arise  about  your 
automaton.  Besides,"  the  bold  soldier  added,  with  a 


168  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

degree  of  pride,  "  I  confess  I  should  like  to  find  myself 
face  to  face  with  the  great  Catherine,  and  show  her  that 
the  head  on  which  she  set  the  price  of  a  few  roubles  is, 
under  certain  circumstances,  as  good  as  her  own." 

"Madman  that  you  are  !"  M.  de  Kempelen  exclaimed, 
startled  by  the  excitement  of  the  impetuous  insurgent. 
"  Remember,  that  we  may  be  discovered,  and  you  will  lose 
your  life,  while  I  shall  be  sent  to  Siberia." 

"  Impossible  !"  Worousky  quietly  replied ;  "your  inge- 
nious machine  has  already  deceived  so  many  skillful  per- 
sons, that  I  am  convinced  we  shall  soon  have  one  dupe 
more.  Besides,  what  a  glorious  reminiscence,  what  an 
honor  it  will  be  to  us,  if  we  can  say  some  day  that  the 
Empress  Catherine  II.,  the  haughty  Czarina,  whom  her 
courtiers  proclaim  the  most  intellectual  person  in  her 
vast  empire,  was  deceived  by  your  genius,  and  conquered 
by  me !" 

Kempelen,  though  not  sharing  Worousky's  enthusiasm, 
was  obliged  to  yield.  Hence,  they  set  off  without  further 
argument ;  the  journey  was  very  long  and  fatiguing,  but 
Kempelen  did  not  quit  his  companion  for  a  moment,  and 
did  all  in  his  power  to  ameliorate  his  position.  At  length 
they  reached  their  journey's  end,  but  though  they  had 
travelled  as  fast  as  they  could,  Catherine,  on  receiving 
Kempelen,  appeared  rather  angry. 

"  My  roads  must  be  very  bad,  sir,  if  you  require  fifteen 
days  to  travel  from  Vitebsk  to  St.  Petersburg." 

"  Will  your  majesty,"  the  crafty  mechanician  replied, 
"  allow  me  to  make  a  confession  which  will  serve  as  my 
excuse?" 

"  Do  so,"  Catherine  replied,  "  provided  it  be  not  a  con- 
fession of  the  incapacity  of  your  marvellous  machine." 

"  On  the  contrary,  I  would  confess  that,  being  aware 


CATHERINE  II.  169 

of  your  majesty's  skill  at  chess,  I  desired  to  offer  you  a 
worthy  opponent.  Hence,  before  starting,  I  made  some 
additions  which  were  indispensable  for  so  important  a 
game." 

"Ah  !"  the  empress  said,  with  a  smile,  smoothed  down 
by  this  flatttering  explanation.  "And  you  fancy  these 
new  arrangements  will  enable  your  automaton  to  beat 
me?" 

"  I  should  be  much  surprised  were  it  otherwise." 

"  Well,  we  shall  see,  sir,"  the  empress  continued,  nod- 
ding her  head  ironically.  "  But,"  she  added,  in  the  same 
tone,  "  when  will  you  bring  my  terrible  opponent  before 
me?" 

"  Whenever  your  majesty  may  please." 

"If  that  is  the  case,  I  am  so  impatient  to  measure  my 
strength  with  the  conqueror  of  the  most  skillful  players 
in  my  country,  that  I  will  receive  him  this  very  evening 
in  my  library.  Put  up  your  machine  there,  and  at  eight 
o  clock  I  will  join  you.  Be  punctual !" 

Kempelen  took  leave  of  Catherine,  and  hastened  to 
make  his  preparations  for  the  evening.  Worousky  was  de- 
lighted at  the  prospect  of  amusing  the  empress ;  but  al- 
though Kempelen  was  resolved  to  risk  the  adventure,  he 
wished  to  take  all  possible  precautions,  so  that  he  might 
have  a  way  of  escape  in  case  of  danger.  Hence,  he  had 
the  automaton  carried  to  the  palace  in  the  same  chest  in 
which  it  travelled. 

When  eight  o'clock  struck,  the  empress,  accompanied  by 
a  numerous  suite,  entered  the  library  and  took  her  place 
at  the  chess-board. 

I  have  forgotten  to  say  that  Kempelen  never  allowed 
any  one  to  pass  behind  the  automaton,  and  would  not  con- 
sent to  begin  the  game  till  all  the  spectators  were  in  front 
of  the  board. 


170  MEMOIRS  OF  KOBERT-HOUDIN. 

The  court  took  their  places  behind  the  empress,  unani- 
mously predicting  the  defeat  of  the  automaton.  The  chest 
and  the  Turk's  body  were  then  examined,  and  when  all 
were  perfectly  convinced  they  contained  nothing  but  the 
clockwork  I  have  already  mentioned,  the  game  began.  It 
proceeded  for  some  time  in  perfect  silence,  but  Catherine's 
frowning  brow  speedily  revealed  that  the  automaton  was 
not  very  gallant  towards  her,  and  fully  deserved  the  repu- 
tation it  had  gained.  The  skillful  Mussulman  captured  a 
bishop  and  a  knight,  and  the  game  was  turning  much  to 
the  disadvantage  of  the  lady,  when  the  Turk,  suddenly 
forgetting  his  dignified  gravity,  gave  a  violent  blow  on  his 
cushion,  and  pushed  back  a  piece  his  adversary  had  just 
moved. 

Catherine  II.  had  attempted  to  cheat ;  perhaps  to  try 
the  skill  of  the  automaton,  or  for  some  other  reason.  At 
any  rate  the  haughty  empress,  unwilling  to  confess  her  weak- 
ness, replaced  the  piece  on  the  same  square,  and  regarded 
the  automaton  with  an  air  of  imperious  authority.  The 
result  was  most  unexpected  —  the  Turk  upset  all  the 
pieces  with  a  blow  of  his  hand,  and  immediately  the  clock 
work,  which  had  been  heard  during  the  whole  game,  stop- 
ped. It  seemed  as  if  the  machinery  had  got  out  of  repair. 
Pale  and  trembling,  M.  de  Kempelen,  recognising  in  this 
Worousky's  impetuous  temper,  awaited  the  issue  of  this 
conflict  between  the  insurgent  and  his  sovereign. 

"  Ah,  ah !  my  good  automaton !  your  manners,  are 
rather  rough,"  the  empress  said,  good  humoredly,  not 
sorry  to  see  a  game  she  had  small  chance  of  winning 
end  thus.  "  Oh !  you  are  a  famous  player,  I  grant ;  but 
you  were  afraid  of  losing  the  game,  and  so  prudently  up- 
set the  pieces.  Well,  I  am  now  quite  convinced  of  your 
skill  and  your  violent  character." 


A  LUCKY  ESCAPE.  171 

M.  de  Kempelen  began  to  breathe  again,  and  regaining 
courage,  tried  to  remove  the  unfavorable  impression  which 
the  little  respect  shown  by  the  automaton  must  have  pro- 
duced. Hence  he  said,  humbly, 

"  Will  your  majesty  allow  me  to  offer  an  explanation  of 
what  has  just  happened?" 

"By  no  means,  M.  de  Kempelen,"  Catherine  said, 
heartily — "by  no  means;  on  the  contrary,  I  find  it  most 
amusing,  and  your  automaton  pleases  me  so  much  that  I 
wish  to  purchase  it.  I  shall  thus  always  have  near  me  a 
player,  somewhat  quick  perhaps,  but  yet  able  to  hold  his 
own.  You  can  leave  it  here  to-night,  and  come  to-mor- 
row morning  to  arrange  the  price." 

There  is  strong  reason  to  believe  that  Catherine  wish- 
ed to  commit  an  indiscretion  when  she  evinced  a  desire 
that  the  figure  should  remain  at  the  palace  till  the  next 
morning.  Fortunately,  the  skillful  mechanician  managed 
to  baffle  her  feminine  curiosity  by  carrying  Worousky  off 
in  the  big  chest.  The  automaton  remained  in  the  library, 
but  the  player  was  no  longer  there. 

The  next  day  Catherine  renewed  her  proposition  to  pur- 
chase the  chess-player,  but  Kempelen  made  her  under- 
stand that,  as  the  figure  could  not  perform  without  him, 
he  could  not  possibly  sell  it.  The  empress  allowed  the 
justice  of  these  arguments;  and,  while  complimenting  the 
mechanician  on  his  invention,  made  him  a  handsome  pre- 
sent. 

Three  months  after  the  automaton  was  in  England,  un- 
der the  management  of  Mr.  Anthon,  to  whom  Kempelen 
had  sold  it.  I  know  not  if  Worousky  was  still  attached 
to  it,  but  I  fancy  so,  owing  to  the  immense  success  the 
chessplayer  met  with.  Mr.  Anthon  visited  the  whole  of 
Europe,  always  meeting  with  the  same  success;  but,  at 


172  MEMOIRS  OF  KOBERT-HOUDIN. 

his  death,  the  celebrated  automaton  was  purchased  by 
Maelzel,  who  embarked  with  it  for  New  York.  It  was 
then,  probably,  Worousky  took  leave  of  his  hospitable 
Turk,  for  the  automaton  was  not  nearly  so  successful  in 
America.  After  exhibiting  his  mechanical  trumpeter  and 
chess-player  for  some  time,  Maelzel  set  out  again  for 
France,  but  died  on  the  passage  of  an  attack  of  indiges- 
tion. His  heirs  sold  his  apparatus,  and  thus  Cronier  ob- 
tained his  precious  relic. 

My  fortunate  star  again  furnished  me  with  an  excellent 
occasion  for  continuing  my  studies.  A  Prussian  of  the 
name  of  Koppen  exhibited  at  Paris,  about  the  year  1829, 
an  instrument  known  as  the  Componium.  It  was  a  per- 
fect mechanical  orchestra,  playing  operatic  overtures  with 
remarkable  precision  and  effect,  and  it  owed  its  name  to 
the  circumstance  that,  by  means  of  truly  marvellous  ar- 
rangements, this  instrument  improvised  charming  varia- 
tions without  ever  repeating  itself.  It  was  asserted  to  be  as 
difficult  to  hear  the  same  variation  twice,  as  to  find  two 
similar  quaternes  drawn  in  succession  at  a  lottery. 

The  Componium  was  enormously  successful,  but  at  last 
public  curiosity  was  exhausted,  and  it  was  withdrawn, 
after  bringing  in  the  owner  one  hundred  thousand  francs 
clear  profit  in  a  year.  This  amount,  whether  correct  or 
not,  was  adroitly  published,  and  some  time  after  the  in- 
strument was  put  up  for  sale.  A  speculator  by  the  name 

of  D ,  seduced  by  the  hope  of  obtaining  equally  large 

receipts  in  a  foreign  country,  bought  the  instrument,  and 

took  it  to  England.   Unfortunately  for  D ,  at  the  moment 

when  this  goose  with  the  golden  eggs  arrived  in  London, 
George  IV.  died ;  the  court  went  into  mourning,  and  no 
one  visited  the  instrument.  In  order  to  avoid  useless  ex- 
pense, D thought  it  prudent  to  give  up  a  scheme  com- 


THE  COMPONIUM.  173 

menced  under  such  evil  auspices,  and  determined  on  re- 
turning to  Paris.  The  Componium  was  consequently  taken 
to  pieces,  packed  up  and  carried  to  France. 

D ,  hoped  the  instrument  would  enter  duty  free,  but, 

on  leaving  France,  he  had  omitted  some  formality  indis- 
pensable before  obtaining  this  favor.  The  Customs  stopped 
it,  and  he  was  obliged  to  refer  the  case  to  the  Minister  of 
Trade.  While  awaiting  his  decision,  the  chests  were  de- 
posited in  damp  ware-rooms,  and  it  was  not  till  the  end 
of  the  year,  and  after  numberless  formalities  and  difficul- 
ties, that  the  instrument  returned  to  Paris. 

This  will  give  an  idea  of  the  state  of  disorder,  confusion 
and  damage  in  which  the  Componium  was  left. 

Discouraged  by  the  ill  success  of  his  trip  to  England, 

D resolved  on  selling  his  mechanical  improviser,  but, 

before  doing  so,  he  cast  about  for  a  mechanician  who 
would  undertake  to  put  it  in  working  order.  I  have  for- 
gotton  to  state  that,  on  the  sale  of  the  Componium,  M. 
Koppen  had  handed  over  with  it  a  very  clever  German 
workman,  who  was,  as  it  were,  the  driver  of  this  gigantic 
instrument.  This  person,  finding  he  must  sit  with  his 
hands  before  him  during  the  interminable  formalities  of 
the  French  Customs,  thought  he  could  not  do  better  than 
return  home. 

The  repair  of  the  Componium  was  a  tedious  business — 
a  work  of  perserverance  and  research  —  for,  as  its  ar- 
rangement had  always  been  kept  secret,  no  one  could 

supply  the  least  information.  D himself,  having  no 

notion  of  mechanism,  could  not  be  of  the  slightest  use,  so 
the  workman  must  only  depend  on  his  own  ideas. 

I  heard  the  matter  talked  about,  and,  urged  by  a  pro- 
bably too  flattering  opinion  of  myself,  or  rather  dazzled 
by  the  glory  of  executing  such  a  splendid  job,  I  offered 
to  undertake  the  immense  repairs. 


174  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

I  was  laughed  at :  the  confession  is  humiliating,  but 
perfectly  truthful.  I  must  say,  too,  that  it  was  justifiable, 
for  I  was  only  known  at  that  time  as  an  humble  workman, 
and  it  was  feared  that,  far  from  making  the  instrument 
act  properly,  I  should  cause  still  greater  injury,  while  try- 
ing to  repair  it.  However,  as  D met  with  no  better 

offer,  and  I  offered  to  deposit  a  sum,  to  be  forfeited  in  the 
event  of  my  doing  any  injury,  he  eventually  yielded  to 
my  wishes. 

It  will  be  allowed  that  I  was  a  very  conscientious  work- 
man ;  but,  in  reality,  I  acted  for  my  own  benefit,  as  this 
undertaking,  by  supplying  me  with  an  interesting  object 
of  study,  would  prove  a  perfect  lesson  in  mechanism  for 
me. 

As  soon  as  my  offer  was  accepted,  all  the  boxes  in  which 
the  componium  was  packed  were  carried  into  a  large  room 
I  used  as  workshop,  and  emptied,  pell-mell,  into  sheets, 
spread  for  the  purpose,  on  the  ground. 

When  alone,  and  I  saw  this  heap  of  rusty  iron,  these 
myriads  of  parts,  whose  meaning  I  did  not  understand, 
this  orchestra  of  instruments  of  every  size  and  shape,  such 
as  cornets,  bugles,  hautboys,  flutes,  clarionets,  bassoons, 
organ  pipes,  big  drum,  triangle,  cymbals,  &c.,  all  arranged 
in  sizes,  according  to  the  chromatic  scale,  I  was  so  fright- 
ened by  the  difficulty  of  my  task,  that  I  was  quite  annihi- 
leted  for  several  hours. 

To  better  understand  my  mad  presumption,  which  only 
my  passion  for  mechanics  and  my  love  of  the  marvellous 
can  excuse,  I  must  add  that  I  never  even  saw  the  com- 
ponium performing ;  hence,  all  was  an  unknown  country 
for  me.  Add  to  this,  that  the  greater  portion  of  the 
works  were  covered  with  rust  and  verdigris. 

Seated  in  the  midst  of  this  musical  chaos,  with  my  head 


I  AM  SUCCESSFUL.  175 

resting  in  my  hands,  I  asked  myself  a  hundred  times  this 
simple  question,  "Where  shall  I  begin?"  and  then  my 
imagination  was  quite  paralysed.  One  morning,  however, 
finding  myself  well  disposed,  and  feeling  the  influence  of 
the  Hippocratic  axiom,  "Mens  sana  in  corpore  sano,"  I 
felt  disgusted  at  my  long  sloth,  and  rushed  headforemost 
at  my  immense  task. 

If  my  readers  were  only  mechanicians,  how  willingly 
would  I  describe  to  them  all  my  trials,  attempts,  and 
studies  !  With  what  pleasure  I  would  explain  the  skillful 
and  ingenious  combinations  that  arose  successively  from 
this  chaos !  But  as  I  fancy  I  can  see  my  readers  turning 
over  my  pages  to  seek  the  end  of  a  chapter  that  is  growing 
too  serious,  I  will  check  my  inclination,  and  content  my- 
self with  stating  that,  for  a  whole  year,  I  proceeded  from 
the  known  to  the  unknown,  in  solving  this  inextricable 
problem,  and  one  day  I  had  the  happiness  of  seeing  my 
labors  crowned  with  complete  success.  The  componium  — 
a  new  phoenix  —  had  risen  from  its  ashes. 

This  unexpected  success  gained  me  the  greatest  praise, 

and  D bade  me  name  my  own  price ;  but  I  would  not 

accept  anything  beyond  my  actual  outlay,  feeling  amply 
repaid  by  such  a  glorious  result.  And  yet,  however  high 
my  reward  might  have  been,  it  would  not  have  repaid  me 
what  this  task,  which  overtasked  my  strength,  eventually 
cost  me. 


176  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN.. 


CHAPTER    X. 

An  Inventor's  Calculations — One  Hundred  Thousand  Francs  a  Year  by 
an  Inkstand:  Deception — My  new  Automata — The  First  Magician 
in  France:  Decadence — I  meet  Antonio — Bosco  —  The  Trick  with 
the  Cups — An  Execution — Resurrection  of  the  Criminals — Mistake 
in  a  Head — The  Canary  rewarded. 

MY  sleepless  nights,  my  incessant  toil,  and,  above  all, 
the  feverish  agitations  resulting  from  all  the  emotions  of 
such  an  arduous  undertaking,  had  undermined  my  health. 
A  brain-fever  attacked  me,  and  though  I  recovered  from 
it,  it  was  only  to  pass  five  long  years  in  listlessness  and 
vacuity.  My  mind  seemed  quite  gone  :  I  felt  no  passion, 
no  love,  no  interest,  even  in  the  arts  I  had  so  delighted  in  : 
conjuring  and  mechanism  only  existed  for  me  in  the  shape 
of  recollections. 

But  this  illness,  which  had  mastered  the  faculty  of  Paris, 
could  not  resist  the  refreshing  air  of  the  country,  where  I 
retired  for  six  months,  and  when  I  returned  to  Paris,  I 
was  a  new  man.  With  what  joy  I  saw  again  my  beloved 
tools  !  With  what  ardor  I  reassumed  my  work  !  for  I  had 
to  regain  not  only  the  lost  time,  but  also  the  enormous  ex- 
penses incurred  by  my  long  illness. 

My  modest  fortune  was  for  the  moment  sensibly  dimin- 
ished, but  on  this  point  I  was  case-hardened ;  for  would 
not  my  future  performances  fill  up  all  these  losses,  and 
insure  me  a  handsome  fortune  ?  Thus  I  discounted  an 
uncertain  future ;  but,  after  all,  do  not  all  inventors  like 
to  convert  their  schemes  into  ingots  ? 


AN  INVENTOR.  177 

Perhaps,  too,  I  unconsciously  yielded  to  the  influence 
of  one  of  my  friends,  an  extraordinary  projector,  whom 
mistakes  and  deceptions  never  hindered  forming  fresh 
schemes.  Our  manner  of  calculating  the  future  had  con- 
siderable affinity.  But  I  must  do  him  this  justice :  how- 
ever high  my  estimate  might  be,  he  was  far  superior  to 
me  in  that  respect.  Here  is  an  instance  to  judge  by. 

One  day  this  friend  called  upon  me,  and  showing  me  an 
inkstand  of  his  invention,  which  combined  the  double 
merit  of  being  safe  from  upset,  and  of  always  keeping  the 
ink  at  the  same  level,  said, 

"  At  last,  my  lad,  I  have  hit  it ;  this  invention  will 
make  a  revolution  in  the  writing  world,  and  allow  me  to 
walk  about  like  a  gentleman,  with  a  hundred  thousand 
francs  a  year  —  at  the  very  lowest,  understand  me.  But 
you  can  judge  for  yourself,  if  you  follow  my  calculations 
closely.  You  know,  there  are  thirty-six  millions  of  in- 
habitants in  France?" 

I  nodded  an  affirmative. 

"  Starting  on  this  basis,  I  do  not  think  I  err  if  I  assume 
that  at  least  one-half  can  write,  eh  ?  or,  say  we  take  one- 
third,  or,  to  be  still  more  sure,  the  round  sum  of  ten  mil- 
lions. Now,  I  hope  I  shall  not  be  charged  with  exaggera- 
tion, if,  out  of  these  ten  millions,  I  take  one-tenth,  or  a 
million,  as  the  number  of  those  looking  after  what  may  be 
useful  to  them." 

And  my  friend  stopped  here  and  looked  at  me,  as  much 
as  to  say,  "Am  I  not  reasonable  in  my  estimates?" 

"  We  have,  then,  in  France  one  million  men  capable  of 
appreciating  the  benefits  of  my  inkstand.  Well,  of  this 
number  how  many  will  you  allow  who,  during  the  first 
year,  hear  of  my  inkstand,  and  consequently  will  purchase 

it?" 

M 


178  MEMOIES  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

"Well,"  I  replied,  "I  confess  to  a  difficulty  in  giving 
you  an  exact  answer." 

"  Good  Heavens  !  who  spoke  about  exactness  ?  I  only 
want  an  approximation,  and  that  must  be  the  lowest  pos- 
sible, that  there  may  be  no  mistake." 

"Well,"  I  went  on,  continuing  my  friend's  decimal  cal- 
culations, "take  a  tenth." 

"Now,  mind,  you  said  a  tenth,  or,  in  other  words,  one 
hundred  thousand.  But,"  the  inventor  continued,  charmed 
at  seeing  me  share  his  brilliant  calculations,  "  do  you  know 
what  the  sale  of  these  one  hundred  thousand  inkstands 
will  produce  me  in  a  year  ?" 

"  I  can  form  no  idea." 

"  I  will  then  tell  you.  I  have  reserved  myself  one  franc 
on  each  inkstand  sold.  This  gives  a  profit  then " 

"  Of  one  hundred  thousand  francs,  of  course." 

"  You  see,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  making  the  calcula- 
tion. You  must  bear  in  mind,  too,  that  the  other  nine 
hundred  thousand  writers  we  left  on  one  side  will  end  by 
appreciating  my  inkstand :  they  will  also  buy  it.  Then 
what  will  the  nine  millions  we  omitted  do  ?  And  notice, 
too,  that  I  am  only  speaking  of  France,  which  is  a  mere 
dot  on  the  globe.  When  foreign  countries  know  its  merits, 

when  the  English  and  their  colonies  order  it Oh,  it 

would  require  a  mathematician  to  reckon  all  this  up  !" 

My  friend  wiped  his  brow,  which  had  grown  quite  damp 
during  the  heat  of  his  address,  and  he  ended  by  repeat- 
ing,4 "  Remember,  we  established  our  estimate  on  the  low- 
est basis." 

Unfortunately,  that  was  the  place  where  my  friend's 
calculation  broke  down.  His  inkstand,  being  much  too 
dear,  was  not  purchased,  and  the  inventor  ended  by  add- 
ing this  gold  mine  to  his  many  other  deceptions. 


MY  AUTOMATA.  179 

I,  too,  I  confess,  based  my  calculations  on  the  census, 
or,  at  least,  on  the  approximative  number  of  visitors  to  the 
capital,  and  even  at  the  lowest  figure  I  arrived  at  a  most 
satisfactory  result.  But  I  do  not  regret  having  given 
way  to  these  fancies,  for  though  they  occasioned  me  vari- 
ous disappointments,  they  served  to  keep  up  some  energy 
in  my  mind,  and  enabled  me  to  wrestle  against  the  num- 
berless difficulties  I  encountered  in  making  my  automata. 
Besides,  who  has  not,  once  in  his  life  at  least,  indulged  in 
the  gilded  calculations  of  my  friend  the  inkstand  inventor  ? 

I  have  already  repeatedly  mentioned  the  automata  I 
made,  and  it  is  high  time  to  describe  the  nature  of  the 
articles  intended  to  be  used  in  my  performances. 

The  first  was  a  small  pastrycook  issuing  from  his  shop 
door  at  the  word  of  command,  and  bringing,  according  to 
the  spectator's  request,  patties  and  refreshments  of  every 
description.  At  the  side  of  the  shop  assistant  pastry- 
cooks might  be  seen  rolling  paste  and  putting  it  in  the 
oven. 

Another  specimen  represented  two  clowns,  Auriol  and 
Debureau.  The  latter  held  out  at  arm's  length  a  chair, 
on  which  his  merry  comrade  performed  acrobatic  tricks, 
like  his  namesake  at  the  circus  in  the  Champs  Elyse'es. 
After  these  performances  Auriol  smoked  a  pipe,  and 
ended  by  accompanying  on  the  flagolet  an  air  played  by 
the  orchestra. 

The  next  was  a  mysterious  orange-tree,  on  which  flowers 
and  fruit  burst  into  life  at  the -request  of  the  ladies.  As 
the  finale,  a  handkerchief  I  borrowed  was  conveyed  into 
an  orange  purposely  left  on  the  tree.  This  opened  and 
displayed  the  handkerchief,  which  two  butterflies  took  by 
the  corners  and  unfolded  before  the  spectators. 

Lastly,    I   made   a   dial   of  transparent   glass,   which 


180  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

marked  the  hours  at  the  Trill  of  the  spectators,  and  struck 
the  time  on  a  crystal  bell. 

At  the  time  I  was  most  deeply  engaged  in  these  labors, 
I  made  a  very  agreeable  rencontre.  While  walking  along 
the  Boulevards,  full  of  thought,  according  to  my  usual 
habit,  I  heard  some  one  calling  me.  On  turning  round, 
an  elegantly-dressed  man  pressed  my  hand. 

"Antonio!"  I  exclaimed,  as  I  embraced  him,  "how 
glad  I  am  to  see  you !  But  why  are  you  here  —  what  are 
you  doing  —  and  Torrini?" 

Antonio  interrupted  me.  "  I  will  tell  you  all  about  it. 
Come  to  my  apartments,  where  we  shall  be  more  at  ease. 
I  only  live  a  few  doors  off." 

In  fact,  within  two  minutes  we  stopped  in  the  Rue  de 
Lancry,  before  a  very  handsome  house. 

"  Go  up,"  Antonio  said:  "I  live  on  the  second  floor." 

A  servant  opened  the  door.  "  Is  your  mistress  at 
home?"  Antonio  asked. 

"No,  sir;  but  I  was  to  tell  you  she  would  be  in  soon." 

After  leading  me  into  a  pretty  drawing-room,  Antonio 
made  me  sit  down  by  his  side  on  a  sofa. 

"Now,  my  friend,  let  us  talk,  for  we  must  have  a  great 
deal  to  tell  each  other." 

"  Yes,  let  us  talk ;  for  I  confess  that  my  curiosity  is 
strongly  excited.  I  fancy,  at  times,  I  am  dreaming." 

"  I  will  bring  you  back  to  real  life,"  Antonio  continued, 
"  by  telling  you  what  has  happened  to  me  since  we  parted. 
Let  us  begin  with  poor  Torj*ini." 

I  made  a  movement  of  pained  surprise. 

"What  do  you  say,  Antonio?     Can  our  friend ?" 

"  Yes,  it  is  only  too  true.  Death  struck  him  at  the 
moment  we  had  every  reason  to  hope  a  happier  fate.  On 
leaving  you,  Torrini  intended  to  return  as  quickly  as  pos- 


THE  FIRST  MAGICIAN  OF  FRANCE.  181 

sible  to  Italy.  The  Count  dc  Grisy  was  anxious  to  reas- 
sume  his  name  and  revisit  the  scenes  of  past  successes,  for 
he  hoped  there  to  become  again  the  brilliant  magician  of 
yore.  God  decided  otherwise.  Just  as  we  were  about 
leaving  Lyons,  where  we  had  been  giving  some  successful 
performances,  he  was  suddenly  seized  with  typhus  fever, 
which  carried  him  off  in  a  few  days. 

"  I  was  his  residuary  legatee,  and  after  paying  the  last 
honors  to  a  man  to  whom  I  had  pledged  my  life,  I  began 
realizing  my  small  fortune.  I  sold  the  horses  and  travel-, 
ling-carriage,  and  kept  the  apparatus,  as  I  intended  to  use 
it.  I  had  no  profession,  so  I  thought  I  could  not  do 
better  than  to  take  up  one,  for  which  the  road  was  clear 
before  me,  and  I  hoped  that  my  name,  to  which  my 
brother-in-law  had  given  a  certain  celebrity  in  France, 
would  assist  me.  It  was  very  bold  in  me  to  try  and  fill 
the  place  of  such  a  master,  but  I  thought  my  impudence 
would  answer  as  well  as  talent. 

"  Hence  I  called  myself  Signer  Torrini,  and,  after  the 
fashion  of  my  rivals,  I  added  the  title  of  '  first  magician 
of  France.'  Each  of  us  is  always  the  first  and  the  most 
skillful  in  the  country  where  he  happens  to  be,  unless  he 
think  proper  to  call  himself  the  first  in  the  whole  world. 
Conjuring  is  a  profession  in  which,  as  you  know,  no  one 
errs  through  excess  of  modesty,  and  the  custom  of  produc- 
ing illusions  facilitates  this  issue  of  bad  money,  which  the 
public,  it  is  true,  appreciates  and  sets  its  true  value  on. 

"So  it  behaved  to  me,  for,  despite  my  pompous  an- 
nouncements, I  frankly  confess  it  did  not  recognize  the 
celebrity  I  claimed.  On  the  contrary,  my  performances 
were  so  little  attended,  that  my  receipts  were  hardly  suffi- 
cient for  my  existence.  Still  I  went  from  town  to  town, 
giving  my  performances,  and  nourishing  myself  more  often 


182  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

on  hope  than  on  reality.  But  the  moment  arrived  when 
this  unsubstantial  food  no  longer  sufficed  me,  and  I  was 
forced  to  stop.  I  had  exhausted  my  resources :  I  had 
nothing  left  but  my  instruments.  My  clothes  were  re- 
duced to  the  sheerest  necessity,  and  threatened  to  desert 
me  at  any  moment :  thus  hesitation  was  impossible.  I 
decided  on  selling  my  instruments,  and,  provided  with  the 
small  sum  they  produced  me,  I  set  out  for  Paris,  the  last 
refuge  of  those  whose  talent  is  neglected  and  position 
hopeless. 

"  In  spite  of  my  ill  success,  I  had  lost  none  of  my  stock 
of  philosophy,  and,  though  not  very  happy,  I  was  full  of 
hope  in  the  future.  Yes,  my  friend  —  yes,  I  had  a  pre- 
sentiment at  that  time  of  the  brilliant  position  fate  re- 
served for  me,  and  to  which  it  lead  me,  I  may  say,  by  the 
hand. 

"  Once  arrived  at  Paris,  I  hired  a  modest  room,  and 
determined  to  live  as  savingly  as  possible,  in  order  to  make 
my  money  hold  out.  You  see  that,  in  spite  of  my  confi- 
dence in  the  future,  I  took  some  precautions,  so  as  not  to 
run  the  risk  of  dying  of  hunger;  but  you  will  allow  I 
acted  wrong  in  not  trusting  entirely  to  my  lucky  star. 

"  I  had  hardly  been  in  Paris  a  week,  when  I  met  an  old 
comrade,  a  Florentine,  who  used  to  perform  as  second 
basso  in  my  old  theatre.  He,  too,  had  been  maltreated 
by  Fortune,  and  having  come  to  Paris,  he  found  himself 
reduced  to  accept  a  situation  in  the  chorus  of  the  Opera. 
When  I  had  revealed  my  position  to  him,  he  told  me  a  tenor 
situation  was  vacant  in  the  chorus,  and  advised  me  to  try 
and  get  it :  I  accepted  the  offer  with  pleasure,  though,  of 
course,  as  merely  transitional,  for  I  felt  a  pang  at  my 
descent.  Still,  prudence  suggested  I  had  better  guard 
against  want. 


THE  MUSIC-MASTER.  183 

"I  have  often  noticed,"  Antonio  continued,  "that  those 
events  which  inspire  us  with  the  greatest  doubt,  turn  out 
the  most  favorable,  and  mine  was  a  case  in  point.  As  I 
had  a  good  deal  of  spare  time,  I  thought  I  would  employ 
it  in  giving  singing  lessons.  I,  therefore  described  myself  as 
a  singer  at  the  Opera,  while  concealing  the  position  I  occu- 
pied there.  Procuring  my  first  pupil  was  as  difficult  as 
saving  the  first  hundred  pounds  towards  a  fortune,  and  I 
had  to  wait  a  long  time.  At  length  I  caught  him  ;  then 
others ;  and,  gradually,  I  had  enough  pupils  to  enable  me 
to  leave  the  theatre. 

"  I  must  tell  you  this  determination  had  another  reason. 
I  loved  one  of  my  lady  pupils,  and  she  returned  my  affec- 
tion. Under  such  circumstances,  it  was  not  prudent 
to  remain  a  chorus-singer,  which  might  have  impeded 
my  views.  You  naturally  expect  some  romantic  adven- 
ture ;  but  nothing  could  be  more  simple  than  the  event 
which  crowned  our  loves — it  was  marriage. 

"Madame  Torrini,  whom  you  will  see  presently,  was 
the  daughter  of  a  retired  laceman.  Her  father,  a  widower, 
with  no  other  children,  had  no  will  but  his  daughter's,  and 
he  accepted  my  offers.  He  was  the  worthiest  of  men; 
but,  unfortunately  we  lost  him  two  years  ago.  I  retired 
from  my  professional  duties  on  the  fortune  he  left  us,  and 
I  now  live  happily  and  calmly,  in  a  position  which  realizes 
my  most  brilliant  dreams  of  old.  This  is  another  proof," 
my  philosophic  friend  said,  in  conclusion,  "that,  however 
precarious  may  be  the  position  in  which  a  man  finds  him- 
self, he  ought  never  to  despair  of  luck  turning." 

My  story  was  not  so  long  as  Antonio's,  for  with  the 
exception  of  my  marriage,  there  was  no  event  worthy  nar- 
rating. I  told  him,  however  of  my  long  illness,  and  tho 
work  that  had  brought  it  on,  and  I  had  scarce  ended,  when 


184  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

Madame  Torrini  entered  the  room.  My  friend's  wife  re- 
ceived me  most  kindly,  saying : 

"I  have  known  you,  sir,  for  a  long  time,  as  Antonio 
told  me  your  history,  which  caused  me  to  feel  the  greatest 
interest,  and  my  husband  and  myself  often  regretted  we 
could  not  hear  of  you.  Now,  however,  M.  Robert,"  she 
added,  "  that  we  have  found  you,  consider  yourself  an  old 
friend  of  the  family  and  come  to  see  us  often." 

I  profited  by  this  kind  invitation,  and  more  than  once 
went  to  seek  consolation  and  encouragement  from  these 
worthy  friends. 

Antonio  still  took  an  interest  in  conjuring,  although  it 
was  a  mere  distraction  by  which  he  amused  his  friends. — 
Still,  not  a  conjurer  announced  his  performance  but  he 
went  to  see  him.  One  morning  he  entered  my  workshop 
in  great  haste. 

"Look  here,"  he  said,  offering  me  a  paper,  "as  you  run 
after  all  the  celebrated  conjurers,  here  is  one  that  will 
astonish  you.  Read." 

I  took  the  paper  eagerly,  and  read  the  following  puff: 

"  The  famous  Bosco,  who  can  conjure  away  a  house  as 
easily  as  a  nutmeg,  is  about  to  give  his  performances  at 
Paris,  in  which  some  miraculous  tricks  will  be  executed." 

"Well,  what  do  you  say  to  that?"  Antonio  asked  me. 

"  A  man  must  possess  very  great  talent  to  undertake 
the  responsibility  of  such  praise.  After  all,  I  think  the 
journalist  is  amusing  himself  at  the  expense  of  his  readers, 
and  that  the  famous  Bosco  only  exists  in  his  columns." 

"  You  are  quite  wrong,  my  dear  Robert :  this  conjurer 
is  not  an  imaginary  being,  for  not  only  have  I  read  this 
puff  in  several  papers,  but  I  even  saw  Bosco  last  night  at 
a  cafe",  giving  some  specimens  of  his  skill,  and  announcing 
his  first  performance  for  next  Tuesday." 


THE  GREAT  BOSCO.  185 

"  If  it  be  so,"  I  said  to  my  friend,  "  I  must  ask  you  to 
spend  the  evening  with  M.  Bosco,  and  I  will  come  and 
call  for  you." 

"  Done,"  said  Antonio,  "  mind  and  call  for  me  on  Tues- 
day at  half-past  seven,  as  the  performance  commences  at 
eight." 

:  At  the  appointed  time  we  proceeded  to  the  Rue  Chan- 
tereine,  where  the  performance  was  announced.  At  the 
money-taker's  we  found  ourselves  face  to  face  with  a  stout 
gentleman,  dressed  in  a  coat  adorned  with  frogs  and 
trimmed  with  fur,  making  him  look  like  a  Russian  prince 
on  his  travels.  Antonio  nudged  me  with  his  elbow,  and 
said,  in  a  whisper,  "  That's  he  !" 

"Who's  he?" 

"Why,  Bosco." 

"  All  the  worse,"  I  said ;  "  I  am  sorry  for  him." 

"  Explain  yourself,  for  I  do  not  understand  the  harm  a 
Boyard's  dress  can  do  a  man." 

"  My  friend,  I  do  not  blame  M.  Bosco  so  much  for  his 
dress  as  for  occupying  his  present  place.  I  think  an  ar- 
tiste cannot  be  too  chary  of  his  person  off  the  stage ;  there 
is  so  much  difference  between  the  man  whom  an  entire  au- 
dience listens  to  and  applauds,  and  the  director  who 
comes  openly  to  watch  his  paltry  interests,  that  the  latter 
must  injure  the  former." 

During  this  conversation,  my  friend  and  myself  had  en- 
tered the  room  and  taken  our  seats.  According  to  the 
idea  I  had  formed  of  a  magician's  laboratory,  I  expected 
to  find  myself  before  a  curtain  whose  large  folds,  when 
withdrawn,  would  display  before  my  dazzled  eyes  a  bril- 
liant stage  ornamented  with  apparatus  worthy  of  the 
celebrity  announced  ;  but  my  illusions  on  this  subject  soon 
faded  away. 


186  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

A  curtain  had  been  considered  superfluous,  and  the 
stage  was  open.  Before  me  was  a  long  three-storied  side- 
board, entirely  covered  with  black  serge.  This  lugubrious 
buffet  was  adorned  with  a  number  of  wax  candles,  among 
which  glistened  the  apparatus.  At  the  topmost  point  of 
this  strange  etargere  was  a  death's-head,  much  surprised, 
I  have  no  doubt,  at  finding  itself  at  such  a  festival,  and  it 
quite  produced  the  effect  of  a  funeral  service. 

In  front  of  the  stage,  and  near  the  spectators,  was  a  ta- 
ble covered  by  a  brown  cloth,  reaching  to  the  ground,  on 
which  five  brass  cups  were  symmetrically  arranged.  Fi- 
nally, above  this  table  hung  a  copper  ball,  which  strangely 
excited  my  curiosity.* 

For  the  life  of  me  I  could  not  imagine  what  this  was 
for,  so  I  determined  to  wait  till  Bosco  came  to  explain  it. 
Antonio  had  entered  into  conversation  with  his  neighbor, 
who  spoke  in  the  most  enthusiastic  manner  of  the  perform- 
ance we  were  about  to  witness.  The  silvery  sound  of  a 
small  bell  put  an  end  to  my  reverie  and  to  my  friend's 
conversation,  and  Bosco  appeared  on  the  stage. 

The  artiste  had  changed  his  costume  :  he  had  substituted 
for  the  Russian  great-coat  a  little  black  velvet  jacket,  fas- 
tened round  the  waist  by  a  leathern  belt  of  the  same  color. 
His  sleeves  were  excessively  short,  and  displayed  a  hand- 
some arm.  He  wore  loose  black  trousers,  ornamented  at 
the  bottom  with  a  ruche  of  lace,  and  a  large  white  collar 
round  his  neck.  This  strange  attire  bore  considerable  re- 
semblance to  the  classical  costume  of  the  Scapins  in  our 
plays. 

*  Since  this  period  Bosco  has  changed  his  stage  decorations :  his 
cloths  have  altered  their  colors,  his  candles  are  shorter,  but  the  death's- 
head,  the  ball,  the  costume,  and  the  tricks,  have  ever  remained  the 
same, 


THE  PIGEON  TRICK.  187 

After  making  a  majestic  bow  to  his  audience,  the  cele- 
brated conjurer  walked  silently  and  with  measured  steps 
up  to  the  famous  copper  ball.  After  convincing  himself 
it  was  solidly  hung,  he  took  up  his  wand,  which  he  wiped 
with  a  white  handkerchief,  as  if  to  remove  any  foreign  in- 
fluence ;  then,  with  imperturbable  gravity,  he  struck  the 
ball  thrice  with  it,  pronouncing,  amid  the  most  solemn 
silence,  this  imperious  sentence :  Spiriti  miei  infernali, 
obedite. 

I,  like  a  simpleton,  scarce  breathed  in  my  expectation 
of  some  miraculous  result,  but  it  was  only  an  innocent 
pleasantry,  a  simple  introduction  to  the  performance"  with 
the  cups.  I  was,  I  confess,  rather  disappointed,  for,  in 
my  opinion,  this  performance  was  only  suited  for  the  pub- 
lic streets,  and  I  did  not  expect  any  one  would  venture  it 
on  a  Paris  stage  in  1838.  I  was  justified  in  this  view,  as 
two  persons,  Miette  and  Lesprit,  might  be  daily  seen  going 
through  this  performance  in  the  streets.  Still,  I  must  say 
that  Bosco  displayed  great  skill,  and  was  heartily  ap- 
plauded by  the  public. 

"Well,"  Antonio's  neighbor  said,  victoriously,  "was  I 
not  right  —  is  he  not  remarkably  clever?  But  you'll  see, 
that's  nothing  as  yet." 

Either  Antonio  was  in  a  bad  temper,  or  the  performance 
did  not  please  him,  for  he  could  not  "plant "  the  admira- 
tion he  had  been  quite  prepared  to  bestow.  In  fact,  he 
became  most  impatient  when  Bosco  commenced  the 
"pigeon  trick."  Still,  it  must  be  allowed  that  the  mise 
en  scene  and  the  execution  were  of  a  nature  to  irritate 
nerves  even  less  sensitive  than  my  friend's. 

A  servant  placed  on  small  tables  on  either  side  the  stage 
two  small  blocks  of  black  wood,  on  each  of  which  a  death's- 
head  was  painted.  They  were  the  blocks  for  the  culprits. 


188  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

Bosco  then  came  forward,  holding  a  knife  in  one  hand  and 
a  black  pigeon  in  the  other. 

"  Here  is  a  pizon"  (I  forgot  to  state  that  Bosco  spoke 
with  a  strong  Italian  accent)  "  zat  has  behaved  badly.  I 
am  going  to  cut  off  his  head ;  zall  it  be,  ladies,  wiz  blood 
or  wizout  ?"  (This  was  one  of  his  strong  points.) 

Some  people  laughed,  but  the  ladies  hesitated  to  reply 
to  this  strange  question. 

"Without  blood,"  a  spectator  said.  Bosco  then  placed 
the  pigeon's  head  on  the  block  and  cut  it  off,  being  careful 
to  press  the  neck,  and  prevent  the  effusion  of  blood. 

"You  zee,  ladies,"  the  operator  said,  "zat  ze  pizon 
does  not  bleed,  as  you  ordered." 

"With  blood,"  suppose  another  spectator  said.  Then 
Bosco  loosened  the  artery,  and  let  the  blood  run  on  a 
plate,  which  he  handed  round  for  inspection.  The  head, 
after  being  cut  off,  was  placed  upright  on  one  of  the 
blocks;  and  Bosco,  taking  advantage  of  a  convulsive 
movement,  which  caused  the  beak  to  open,  made  this  bar- 
barous jest:  "Come,  mossiou,  bow  to  zis  amiable  com- 
pany—  now  once  more.  Ah,  ah,  zat  is  right." 

The  public  listened,  but  no  longer  laughed. 

The  same  operation  was  performed  on  a  white  pigeon 
without  the  slightest  variation,  after  which  Bosco  placed 
the  bodies  in  two  false-bottomed  boxes,  being  careful  to 
put  the  black  head  with  the  white  pigeon,  and  the  white 
head  with  the  black  one.  Then  he  repeated  his  conjura- 
tions over  the  boxes,  and  when  he  opened  them,  a  black 
pigeon  came  with  a  white  head,  and  a  white  one  with  a 
black  head.  Each  of  the  culprits,  according  to  Bosco, 
had  been  restored  to  life,  and  assumed  its  comrade's  head. 

"  Well,  what  do  you  think  of  that  ?"  Antonio's  neighbor 
asked  him,  as  he  clapped  vociferously. 


POOR  PIAROT.  189 

"To  tell  you  the  truth,"  my  friend  replied,  "I  must 
say  the  trick  is  not  very  wonderful.  Besides,  I  should 
like  it  better  were  it  performed  with  less  cruelty." 

"Ah,  you  have  delicate  nerves,  I  see,"  the  neighbor 
said ;  "  perhaps  you  experience  similar  sensations  when 
you  see  a  fowl  killed  and  put  on  the  spit?" 

"Allow  me,  sir,  before  answering  you,"  my  friend  re- 
plied, sharply,  to  ask  if  I  have  come  here  to  see  a  kitchen 
performance  ? 

The  discussion  was  growing  warm,  and  was  rather 
savage  in  its  tone,  when  a  third  party  terminated  the  dis- 
pute by  the  following  jest : 

"  Hang  it,  sir,"  he  said  to  Antonio,  "  if  you  do  not  like 
cruelty,  at  any  rate  do  not  disgust  other  people  with  it." 

Bosco  now  returned  on  the  stage  with  a  canary  in  his 
hand. 

"Zentlemen,"  he  said,  "this  is  Piarot:  he  is  very 
polite,  and  zall  zalute  you.  Come,  Piarot,  do  your  duty." 
And  he  pinched  the  bird's  claws  with  such  force  that  the 
unfortunate  tried  to  escape  from  this  cruel  clutch.  Over- 
come by  pain,  it  bent  down  over  the  juggler's  hand,  utter- 
ing cries  of  distress. 

"  Zat  is  good ;  I  am  zatisfied  wiz  you.  You  see,  ladies, 
he  not  only  zalutes  you,  but  he  says  *  Good-night.'  Con- 
tinue, Piarot,  you  zall  be  rewarded." 

The  same  torture  made  the  bird  bow  twice  more,  and  to 
reward  it  its  master  placed  it  in  the  hands  of  a  lady, 
begging  her  to  keep  it.  But  during  the  passage  the  bird 
had  ended  its  life,  and  reached  the  lady's  hand  dead. 
Bosco  had  strangled  it. 

"  Oh,  gt>od  Heavens,  madam  !"  the  conjurer  exclaimed, 
"I  believe  you  have  killed  my  Piarot  —  you  zall  have 
squeezed  him  too  moch.  Piarot — Piarot!"  he  added, 


190  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOTJDIN. 

tossing  the  bird  in  the  air,  "  Piarot,  answer  to  me.  Ah, 
madam,  he  is  dezidedly  dead.  What  zall  my  wife  say 
when  she  sees  Bosco  arrive  wizout  his  Piarot :  quite  zurely 
I  zall  be  beaten  by  Madame  Bosco."  (I  must  observe, 
here,  that  all  I  describe  is  literally  true.) 

This  bird  was  interred  in  a  large  box,  whence,  after 
fresh  conjurations,  a  living  bird  came  out.  This  new 
victim  was  fated  to  suffer  shorter  agony.  It  was  thrust 
alive  into  the  barrel  of  a  large  pistol,  and  Bosco,  holding  a 
sword  in  his  hand,  begged  a  spectator  to  fire  at  the  point 
of  the  weapon  he  held  out  to  him.  The  pistol  was  fired, 
and  a  third  victim  was  seen  spitted  on  the  point  of  the 
sword. 

Antonio  rose.  "Let  us  go,"  he  said,  "for  I  am  turn- 
ing sick." 

I  have  seen  Bosco  several  times  since  then,  and  each 
time  I  studied  him  carefully,  not  only  to  try  and  explain 
the  cause  of  the  great  fashion  he  enjoyed,  but  also  to  be 
able  to  compare  the  various  opinions  expressed  about  this 
celebrated  man.  Here  are  some  deductions  drawn  from 
my  observations. 

Bosco's  performances  generally  please  a  large  number, 
for  the  public  suppose  that,  through  some  inexplicable  ad- 
dress, the  bird-murders  are  simply  feigned,  and,  tranquil, 
on  this  point,  they  indulge  in  all  the  pleasure  caused  by 
the  talent  of  the  conjurer  and  the  originality  of  his  accent. 

Bosco  has  a  quaint  and  full-sounding  name,  adapted  to 
become  popular,  and  no  one  knows  better  than  he  how  to 
take  advantage  of  it.  Neglecting  no  opportunity  for 
notoriety,  he  performs  at  any  hour  of  the  day,  whatever 
may  be  the  quality  and  number  of  the  spectators.  In  a 
coach,  at  a  table  d'hote,  in  cafe's  or  shops,  he  never  fails 
to  give  some  specimen  of  his  skill,  by  juggling  a  coin,  a 
ring,  and  so  on. 


BOSCO'S  POPULARITY.  191 

The  witnesses  of  these  little  improvised  performances 
consider  themselves  bound  to  return  Bosco's  politeness,  by 
attending  his  public  performance.  They  have  formed  the 
acquaintance  of  the  celebrated  conjurer,  and  are  obliged 
to  sustain  the  reputation  of  their  new  friend.  Hence,  they 
urge  all  their  acquaintances  to  go  also,  puff  off  the  per- 
formance, and  thus  the  room  is  always  full. 

It  must  also  be  mentioned  that  numerous  accomplices 
help  Bosco's  popularity  materially.  Each  of  them,  it  is 
known,  is  instructed  to  hand  the  magician  a  handkerchief, 
shawl,  watch,  &c.,  which  he  has  in  double.  This  allows 
him  to  pass  them  with  an  appearance  of  magic  or  skill, 
into  a  cabbage,  a  loaf,  a  box,  or  any  other  object.  These 
accomplices,  while  aiding  in  the  conjurer's  experiments, 
have  a  great  interest  in  securing  their  success :  for  their 
self-love  finds  its  profit  in  the  success  of  the  mystification. 
Besides,  they  have  no  objection  to  accept  some  of  the  ap- 
plause as  their  due :  hence,  the  magician  has  as  many 
admirers  as  accomplices,  and  the  influence  a  dozen  intelli- 
gent prompters  can  exert  in  a  room  is  well  known. 

Such  were  the  influences  which,  joined  to  Bosco's  talent, 
gained  him  a  great  renown  for  many  years. 


192  MEMOIRS  OF  EGBERT  HOUDIN. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

A  Reverse  of  Fortune — Cookery  and  Clockwork — The  Artist's  Home 
— Invention  of  an  Automaton — Voluntary  Exile — A  modest  Villa — 
The  Inconveniences  of  a  Speciality  —  Two  August  Visitors  —  The 
Throat  of  a  mechanical  Nightingale  —  The  Tiou  and  the  Rrrrrrrrouit 
—  Seven  Thousand  Francs  earned  by  making  Filings. 

IN  the  meanwhile  I  worked  indefatigably  at  my  au- 
tomata, hoping  that  when  these  were  completed,  I  should 
be  able  to  establish  myself  permanently.  But,  in  spite  of 
my  activity,  I  advanced  very  slowly  towards  the  realiza- 
tion of  my  long-deferred  hopes. 

Only  an  inventor  can  know  the  value  of  a  day's  work 
on  the  gloomy  road  to  success  in  combining  automata. 
Numberless  trials  and  deceptions  of  every  nature  foil  at 
any  moment  the  best-conceived  plans,  and  seem  to  realize 
the  pleasant  story  about  reaching  the  end  of  a  journey 
by  making  two  steps  forward  and  three  backward. 

I  performed  this  wearisome  progress  during  six  months, 
and,  at  the  end  of  -that  time,  though  I  had  several  speci- 
mens far  advanced,  it  was  still  impossible  for  me  to  fix  the 
period  when  they  would  be  quite  finished.  In  order  not 
to  defer  my  appearance  before  the  public,  I  therefore  re- 
solved to  begin  with  my  conjuring  tricks  and  such  au- 
tomata as  were  ready.  I  had  arranged  with  an  architect, 
who  was  to  help  me  in  finding  a  suitable  site  for  a  thea- 
tre, but  I  had  scarce  taken  my  first  steps,  when  an  un- 
foreseen catastrophe  ruined  both  my  father-in-law  and 
myself. 


A  REVERSE  OF  FORTUNE.  193 

This  reverse  of  fortune  threw  me  into  a  state  of  abject 
despondency,  for  I  saw,  to  iny  terror,  the  realization  of 
my  plans  indefinitely  postponed.  I  could  no  longer  think 
of  inventing  machines,  but  must  work,  day  by  day,  to 
support  my  large  family.  I  had  four  children,  all  very 
young,  and  this  was  a  heavy  burden  on  a  man  who  had 
never  yet  thought  of  his  own  interests. 

The  vulgar  truth,  "  Time  dissipates  the  severest  griefs," 
is  not  the  less  true  from  being  so  often  repeated ;  and  it 
was  the  case  with  me.  I  was  at  first  as  wretched  as  man 
could  well  be ;  then  my  despair  gradually  died  away,  and 
made  room  for  sorrow  and  resignation.  At  last,  as  it  is 
not  my  nature  to  keep  up  a  melancholy  character  long,  I 
ended  by  accepting  the  situation.  Then  the  future, 
which  had  appeared  so  gloomy,  assumed  a  different  face, 
and,  by  a  gradual  process  of  reasoning,  I  began  to  indulge 
in  reflections  whose  consoling  philosophy  restored  my 
courage. 

"  Why  should  I  despair?"  I  said  to  myself.  "At  my 
age,  time  itself  is  a  fortune,  and  I  have  a .  considerable 
reserve  fund  of  that.  Besides,  who  knows  whether 
Providence,  by  sending  me  this  trial,  has  not  wished  to 
delay  an  undertaking  that  was  not  yet  quite  assured  of 
success?" 

In  fact,  what  had  I  to  offer  the  public  that  would  over- 
come the  indifference  a  new  performer  always  inspires  ? 
—  improved  conjuring  tricks!  Those,  I  thought,  would 
not  prevent  me  failing,  for  I  was  unaware  at  that  period 
that,  in  order  to  please  the  public,  an  idea  must  be,  if  not 
novel,  at  least  completely  transformed,  so  that  it  cannot 
be  recognized.  Only  in  that  way  can  an  artiste  escape  a 
remark  that  always  fills  him  with  dread — "I  have  seen 
thit  before."  My  automata  and  mechanical  curiosities 

N 


194  MEM  OIKS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

would  not  have  betrayed  the  hopes  I  built  upon  them,  but 
I  had  too  few,  and  the  specimens  I  had  in  hand  still  re- 
quired years  of  study  and  labor. 

These  wise  reflections  restored  my  courage,  and,  re- 
signed to  my  new  situation,  I  resolved  to  effect  an  utter 
reform  in  my  budget.  I  had  nothing  more  to  look  for 
than  what  I  earned  with  my  own  hands,  so  I  hired  a 
modest  lodging,  at  three  hundred  francs  a  year,  in  the  Rue 
du  Temple.  It  consisted  of  a  room,  a  cabinet  and  a  stove 
in  a  cupboard,  to  which  my  proprietor  gave  the  name  of 
kitchen.  I  converted  the  largest  room  into  our  common 
sleeping  apartment,  the  cabinet  served  as  my  workshop, 
while  the  stove  kitchen  was  used  to  prepare  our  modest 
meals. 

My  wife,  though  in  delicate  health,  undertook  the  house- 
hold department.  Fortunately,  this  was  not  very  labori- 
ous, as  our  meals  were  most  modest ;  and  as  our  rooms 
were  limited  in  number,  there  was  not  much  moving  about 
required.  The  proximity  of  our  mutual  laboratories  had 
also  this  double  advantage,  that,  whenever  my  house- 
keeper was  absent,-  I  could  watch  the  pot-au-feu  or  stir  a 
ragout  without  leaving  my  levers,  wheels  and  cogs. 

These  vulgar  occupations  for  an  artiste  will  make  many 
a  reader  smile,  but  when  a  man  cannot  afford  to  keep  a 
servant,  and  the  quality  of  the  dinner,  consisting  of  a 
single  dish,  depends  on  the  care  devoted  to  it,  it  is  better 
to  pocket  one's  dignity  and  attend  to  the  culinary  depart- 
ment, at  any  rate,  without  feeling  false  shame.  However, 
it  appears  that  I  performed  my  confidential  mission  ad- 
mirably, for  my  exactitude  gained  me  abundant  praise. 
Still,  I  must  confess  that  I  had  very  slight  talent  foi 
cooking,  and  this  boasted  exactitude  was  produced  by  my 
fear  of  incurring  the  reproaches  of  my  head  cook. 


THE  ALARUM-LIGHT.  195 

This  humble  existence  was  less  painful  to  me  than  I 
had  imagined.  I  had  always  been  moderate,  and  the 
privation  of  succulent  dishes  affected  me  very  little.  My 
wife,  surrounded  by  her  children,  to  whom  she  devoted 
her  utmost  care,  seemed  equally  happy,  while  hoping  for 
better  times  to  come. 

I  had  resumed  my  first  trade,  that  of  repairing  watches 
and  clocks.  Still,  this  was  only  to  secure  our  hand-to- 
mouth  existence,  for  all  the  while  I  was  repairing  I  was 
meditating  a  piece  of  clockwork,  the  success  of  which  re- 
stored some  ease  to  our  household.  It  was  an  alarum, 
which  was  thus  arranged : 

You  placed  it  by  your  side  when  you  went  to  bed,  and, 
at  the  hour  desired,  a  peal  aroused  the  sleeper,  while,  at 
the  same  time,  a  ready  lighted  candle  came  out  from  a 
small  box.  I  was  the  prouder  of  this  invention  and  its 
success,  as  it  was  the  first  of  my  ideas  which  produced  me 
any  profit. 

This  "  alarum-light,"  as  I  christened  it,  was  so  popular 
that,  in  order  to  satisfy  the  great  demand  for  it,  I  was 
obliged  to  add  a  workshop  to  my  rooms  and  hire  several 
workmen.  Encouraged  by  such  a  favorable  result,  I 
turned  my  attention  afresh  to  inventions,  and  gave  a  free 
scope  to  my  imagination.  I  succeeded  in  making  several 
more  toys,  among  which  was  one  which  my  readers  will 
probably  remember  to  have  seen  in  the  shop-windows.  It 
was  a  glass  dial,  mounted  on  a  column  of  the  same  mate- 
rial. This  "mysterious  clock"  (as  I  called  it),  although 
entirely  transparent,  indicated  the  hour  with  the  greatest 
exactness,  and  struck,  without  any  apparent  mechanism 
to  make  it  move.  I  also  constructed  several  automata, 
such  as  a  conjurer  playing  with  cups,  a  dancer  on  the 
tight-rope,  singing  birds,  &c. 


196  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

It  may  strike  the  reader  that,  with  so  many  strings  to 
my  bow,  and  such  amusing  toys  to  make,  my  situation 
would  be  considerably  improved,  but  it  was  not  so.  Each 
day,  on  the  contrary,  produced  fresh  trouble  in  my  trade 
as  well  as  in  my  household,  and  I  even  saw  a  financial 
crisis  approaching  which  I  found  it  impossible  to  prevent. 

The  cause  of  this  result  was  very  simple.  While  en- 
gaged with  the  mechanical  toys  I  have  just  mentioned,  I 
still  worked  at  my  theatrical  automata,  for  which  my 
passion  had  been  again  aroused  by  my  present  labors. 
Like  the  gambler,  who  throws  his  last  farthing  on  the 
board,  I  invested  all  my  earnings  in  my  theatrical  prepa- 
rations, hoping  these  would  soon  repay  me  for  my  sacri- 
fices with  a  hundred  per  cent,  profit. 

But  it  was  fated  that  I  should  no  sooner  see  the  reali- 
zation of  my  projects  close  at  hand,  than  an  unforseen 
event  should  remove  it  again  from  my  grasp.  I  had  a 
sum  of  two  thousand  francs  to  pay  at  the  end  of  the 
month ;  I  had  not  a  penny  to  meet  it,  and  I  had  only 
three  days  left  before  the  bill  I  had  accepted  became 
due. 

Never  did  an  embarrassment  arrive  more  inopportunely  ! 
I  had  just  formed  the  plan  of  an  automaton  in  which  I 
placed  the  greatest  hopes.  It  was  a  "  writing  und  draw- 
ing automaton,"  answering  in  writing  or  emblematic  de- 
signs questions  proposed  by  the  spectators,  and  I  intended 
to  employ  this  figure  between  the  performances  in  my 
future  theatre. 

Once  more  was  I  obliged  to  check  the  flight  of  my  ima- 
gination to  absorb  myself  in  the  vulgar  and  difficult  pro- 
blem of  meeting  a  bill  when  you  have  no  money.  I  might, 
it  is  true,  have  saved  myself  all  trouble  by  applying  to  my 
friends,  but  prudence  and  delicacy  rendered  it  my  duty  to 


A  FINANCIAL  CRISIS.  197 

pay  it  from  my  own  resources.  Providence,  doubtlessly, 
recognized  the  merit  of  my  resolution,  for  she  sent  me  a 
saving  idea. 

I  had  sold  several  mechanical  toys  to  M.  G ,  a  rich 

curiosity  dealer,  who  had  always  treated  me  with  marked 
kindness.  I  went  to  him,  and  gave  him  an  exact  descrip- 
tion of  my  new  automaton,  and  necessity  must  have  ren- 
dered me  eloquent,  for  M.  G was  so  satisfied  that 

he  bought  my  automaton  on  the  spot,  which  I  bound  my- 
self to  deliver  to  him  within  eighteen  months.  The  price 
was  arranged  at  five  thousand  francs,  half  of  which  M. 

G agreed  to  pay  me  in  advance,  reserving  to  himself 

the  right,  if  I  failed,  in  my  promise,  of  recouping 'himself 
by  purchasing  several  of  my  automatic  toys. 

Imagine  my  joy  when  I  returned  home,  holding  in  my 
hands  the  money  to  meet  the  bill !  But  the  prospect  of 
devoting  myself  for  a  long  time  to  the  manufacture  of  an 
article  satisfying  my  mechanical  taste,  rendered  me  even 
happier. 

Still,  the  princely  way  in  which  M.  G had  con- 
cluded the  bargain,  produced  some  serious  thoughts  as  to 
the  promise  I  had  made  him.  I  now  saw  a  thousand  ob- 
stacles to  prevent  me  keeping  my  word.  I  calculated 
that,  even  if  I  devoted  every  moment  to  my  work,  I  should 
lose  much  time  by  causes  I  could  not  foresee  or  hinder. 
There  were,  first,  friends,  customers,  and  bores;  then  a 
family  dinner,  an  evening  party,  that  could  not  be  de- 
clined, a  visit  that  must  be  paid,  and  so  on.  These  claims 
on  politeness,  which  I  must  respect,  would  inevitably  cause 
me  to  break  my  word :  in  vain  I  racked  my  brain  in  de- 
vising some  scheme  to  gain  time,  or  at  least  not  lose  it ;  still, 
I  could  only  succeed  at  the  expense  of  my  good  temper. 
I  therefore  formed  a  resolution  which  my  relations  and 


198  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

friends  declared  to  be  madness,  but  from  which  they  could 
not  turn  me,  and  that  was  to  exile  myself  voluntarily  until 
my  task  was  completed. 

Paris  not  appearing  to  me  a  secure  place  against  annoy- 
ance, I  chose  the  suburbs  as  my  retreat,  and  one  fine  day, 
despite  the  prayers  and  supplications  of  my  whole  family, 
after  entrusting  my  business  to  one  of  my  workmen,  whose 
talent  and  probity  I  was  convinced  of,  I  proceeded  to 
Belleville,  and  installed  myself  in  a  little  room  in  the  Rue 
des  Bois,  which  I  hired  for  twelve  months,  at  a  hundred 
francs.  The  only  furniture  was  a  bed,  a  chest  of  drawers, 
a  table,  and  a  few  chairs. 

This  act  of  madness,  as  my  friends  called  it,  or  this 
heroic  determination,  as  I  called  it,  saved  me  from  immi- 
nent ruin,  and  was  my  first  step  on  the  ladder  of  success. 
From  this  moment  an  obstinate  will  was  aroused  in  me 
which  enabled  me  to  confront  many  obstacles  and  difficul- 
ties. 

I  am  bound  to  confess  that  the  first  days  of  my  retire- 
ment were  painful,  and  I  bitterly  deplored  'the  harsh  ne- 
cessity that  thus  isolated  me  from  all  I  loved.  The  society 
of  my  wife  and  children  had  grown  a  necessity  to  me ;  a 
kiss  from  these  dear  beings  restored  my  courage  in  hours 
of  despondency,  and  now  I  was  deprived  of  it.  Surely  I 
must  have  been  supported  by  an  enormous  strength  of 
will  not  to  turn  back  at  the  prospect  of  this  frightful 
vacuum. 

Many  times  I  furtively  wiped  away  a  tear,  but  then  I 
closed  my  eyes,  and  straightway  my  automaton  and  the 
various  combinations  that  were  to  animate  it  appeared  be- 
fore me  like  a  consoling  vision  ;  I  passed  in  review  all  the 
wheels  I  had  created ;  I  smiled  upon  them  like  so  many 
children  of  my  own ;  and  when  I  emerged  from  this  resto- 


MODEST  LIVING.  199 

rative  dream  I  set  to  work  again,  filled  with,  a  courageous 
resignation. 

It  had  been  arranged  that  my  wife  and  children  should 
epend  every  Thursday  evening  with  me,  and  I  always 
dined  at  home  on  Sunday.  These  few  hours  devoted  to 
my  family  were  the  only  amusements  I  allowed  myself. 

At  my  wife's  request,  the  portress  of  the  house  had 
agreed  to  prepare  ray  meals ;  this  excellent  creature,  an 
old  cordon  bleu,  had  left  service  to  marry  a  mason  of  the 
name  of  Monsieur  Auguste.  This  gentleman,  judging  by 
my  modest  existence  in  the  house,  thought  me  a  poor  devil 
who  found  some  difficulty  in  keeping  himself:  hence,  he 
assumed  an  air  of  generous  protection,  or  kindly  pity 
towards  me.  As  he  was  a  worthy  man  at  the  bottom,  I 
pardoned  his  ways,  and  only  laughed  at  them. 

My  new  cook  had  received  special  instruction  to  treat 
me  famously,  but,  not  wishing  to  increase  my  household 
expenses,  I,  on  my  side,  made  stipulations  which  were 
kept  with  the  greatest  secresy.  I  arranged  my  meals 
after  the  following  fashion  :  Mondays,  Tuesdays,  Wednes- 
days, and  Thursdays  I  lived  on  an  enormous  dish,  to  which 
my  chef  gave  the  generic  name  offricot,  but  that  made  no 
difference  to  me.  On  Friday  and  Saturday,  for  the  sake 
of  my  health,  I  lived  low ;  haricot  beans,  either  white  or 
red,  satisfied  my  hunger,  and  with  them  a  composite  soup, 
often  reminding  me  of  the  gastronomic  tastes  of  an  Auver- 
gnat,  and  I  dined  as  well,  perhaps  better,  than  Brillat- 
Savarin  himself. 

This  mode  of  life  offered  me  two  advantages :  I  spent 
little,  and  indigestion  never  troubled  the  clearness  of  my 
ideas.     I  required  this,  however,  for  it  must  not  be  sup 
posed  that  mechanical  difficulties  were  the  only  ones  I  had 
to  contend  against  in  making  my  automaton.    My  readers 


200  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

may  judge,  from  the  following  incident,  which  also  proves 
the  truth  of  the  proverb,  "Willing  is  doing." 

At  the  commencement  of  my  labor  I  had  ordered  from 
a  wood-carver  the  body,  head,  legs,  and  arms  of  my  writer, 
and  had  applied  to  an  artist,  particularly  recommended  to 
me  as  most  skillful,  and  I  had  tried  to  make  him  under- 
stand the  importance  I  attached  to  my  automaton  having 
an  intelligent  face.  My  Phidias  had  replied  that  I  might 
trust  to  him. 

A  month  after,  my  sculptor  made  his  appearance :  he 
carefully  removed  the  wrapper,  and  showed  me  arms  and 
legs  splendidly  carved,  and  ended  by  handing  me  the 
head,  with  an  air  that  seemed  to  signify,  "What  do  you 
think  of  that?" 

After  what  I  had  already  seen  I  was  prepared  to  admire 
a  masterpiece,  but  imagine  my  stupor  on  observing  that 
the  head  belonged  to  a  saint !  Quite  astonished  at  this,  I 
looked  at  my  friend  as  if  seeking  an  explanation,  but  he 
did  not  seem  to  understand  me  and  continued  to  point 
out  all  the  beauties  of  his  work.  I  had  no  good  reason  to 
refuse  it,  for,  after  its  fashion,  it  was  a  very  fine  head,  so 
I  accepted  it,  though  it  could  be  of  no  use  to  me.  At  any 
rate  I  wished  to  know  the  motive  that  induced  my  sculptor 
to  select  such  a  type,  and,  by  dint  of  cross-examination,  I 
learned  that  his  special  trade  was  carving  saints,  and  he 
could  not  emerge  from  his  usual  "  groove." 

After  this  check  I  applied  to  another  artist,  being  care- 
ful to  inquire  of  him  previously  whether  he  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  carving  heads  of  saints.  In  spite  of  my  pre- 
cautions, I  only  got  from  this  artist  a  head  bearing  a 
strong  family  likeness  to  those  Nuremberg  dolls  made  to 
act  as  lay  figures  in  studios. 

I  had  not  the  courage  to  make  a  third  trial ;  yet,  my 


I  TURN  WOOD  CUTTER.  201 

writer  required  a  head,  and  I  regarded  my  chefs-d'oeuvre 
in  turn.  Neither  could  by  possibility  suit  me.  A  head 
with  not  the  slightest  expression  spoiled  my  automaton, 
while  a  holy  Jerome  on  the  body  of  a  writer  dressed  in  the 
Louis  XV.  style  would  be  a  terrible  anachronism. 

"And  yet  the  face  I  want  is  engraved  here,"  I  said, 
striking  my  forehead.  "  What  a  pity  I  cannot  carve  it  — 
suppose  I  were  to  try  !" 

It  has  always  been  my  character  to  set  about  a  scheme 
as  soon  as  I  had  formed  it,  whatever  the  difficulties  might 
be.  Hence  I  took  a  piece  of  modeling  wax,  made  it  into 
a  ball,  in  which  I  formed  three  holes,  representing  mouth 
and  eyes,  then  sticking  on  a  patch  for  a  nose,  I  stopped 
to  admire  my  handiwork. 

Have  you  ever  noticed  a  toy  belonging  to  earliest  youth, 
representing  two  blacksmiths  at  work  on  an  anvil,  which 
they  are  made  to  strike  in  turn  by  pulling  two  parallel 
rods?  Well,  those  mechanical  combinations,  sold  at  one 
penny,  I  believe,  are  perfect  marvels  of  art  in  comparison 
with  my  first  essay  in  modeling. 

Dissatisfied,  disgusted,  and  almost  angry,  I  threw  my 
clumsy  attempt  aside,  and  thought  of  some  other  plan  to 
escape  my  difficulty.  But  I  have  already  said  I  am  obsti- 
nate and  persevering  in  all  I  undertake,  and  the  greater 
the  difficulty  seems,  the  more  I  feel  myself  pledged  to  sur- 
mount it.  The  night  passed  in  dreams  which  showed  me 
my  task  satisfactorily  accomplished,  and  the  next  morning 
I  took  heart,  and  went  at  it  again.  In  fact,  by  passing  a 
chisel  over  my  ball — by  taking  away  from  one  side  and 
adding  to  the  other — I  succeeded  in  making  eyes,  mouth, 
and  nose,  which,  if  not  regular,  had  at  least  the  appear- 
ance of  a  human  form. 

The  following  days  were  spent  in  fresh  studies  and  im- 


202  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

provements,  and  each  time  I  noticed  some  progress  in  my 
work.  Still,  a  moment  arrived  when  I  was  terribly  em- 
barrassed. The  face  was  regular,  but  that  was  not  enough. 
I  must  give  it  some  sort  of  character ;  but,  as  I  had  no 
model,  the  task  seemed  beyond  my  strength. 

The  idea  struck  me  of  looking  in  the  glass,  and  judging 
from  my  own  face  what  features  produce  expression.  Sit- 
ting down,  then,  as  if  writing,  I  studied  my  full  face  and 
profile,  and  tried  to  imitate  what  I  saw.  I  was  engaged 
at  this  task  a  long  while,  incessantly  touching  and  re- 
touching, until  one  fine  day  I  found  my  work  finished,  and 
I  stopped  to  look  at  it  more  attentively.  Judge  of  my 
surprise  on  finding  that  I  had  unconsciously  produced  an 
exact  likeness  of  myself.  Far  from  being  vexed  at  this 
unexpected  result,  I  was  pleased,  for  it  was  quite  natural 
this  child  of  my  imagination  should  have  my  features.  I 
was  not  sorry  to  place  this  family  seal  on  a  work  to  which 
I  attached  such  importance. 

I  had  been  now  living  for  more  than  a  year  at  Belle- 
ville, and  I  saw  with  extreme  pleasure  the  end  of  my  task 
and  of  my  exile  drawing  near.  After  many  doubts  as  to 
the  success  of  my  enterprise,  the  solemn  moment  arrived 
when  I  should  make  the  first  trial  of  my  writer.  I  had 
spent  the  whole  day  in  giving  the  last  touches  to  the  au- 
tomaton, which  sat  before  me  as  if  awaiting  my  orders, 
and  prepared  to  answer  the  questions  I  asked  it.  I  had 
only  to  press  the  spring  in  order  to  enjoy  the  long  awaited 
result.  My  heart  beat  violently,  and  though  I  was  alone, 
I  trembled  with  emotion  at  the  mere  thought  of  this  im- 
posing trial. 

I  had  just  laid  the  first  sheet  of  paper  before  my  writer, 
and  asked  him  this  question : 

"Who  is  the  author  of  your  being?" 


;A  HAPPY  MOMENT.  203 

I  pressed  the  spring,  and  the  clockwork  began  acting. 
I  dared  hardly  breathe  through  fear  of  disturbing  the  ope- 
rations. The  automaton  bowed  to  me,  and  I  could  not 
refrain  from  smiling  on  it  as  my  own  son.  But  when  I 
saw  the  eyes  fix  an  attentive  glance  on  the  paper  —  when 
the  arm,  a  few  seconds  before  numb  and  lifeless,  began  to 
move  and  trace  my  signature  in  a  firm  handwriting  —  the 
tears  started  to  my  eyes,  and  I  fervently  thanked  Heaven 
for  granting  me  such  success.  And  it  was  not  alone  the 
satisfaction  I  experienced  as  inventor,  but  the  certainty  I 
had  of  being  able  to  restore  some  degree  of  comfort  to  my 
family,  that  caused  my  deep  feeling  of  gratitude. 

After  making  my  Sosia  repeat  my  signature  a  thousand 
times,  I  gave  it  this  next  question :  "  What  o'clock  is 
it?" 

The  automaton,  acting  in  obedience  to  a  clock,  wrote : 
"It  is  two  in  the  morning." 

This  was  a  very  timely  warning.  I  profited  by  it,  and 
went  straight  to  bed.  Against  my  expectations,  I  enjoyed 
a  sleep  I  had  not  known  for  a  long  time. 

There  may  be  among  those  who  read  my  book  some  who 
have  also  created  some  successful  work.  They  will  know 
that  next  to  the  happiness  of  enjoying  one's  own  invention, 
nothing  is  so  flattering  as  to  offer  it  to  the  notice  of  a  third 
party.  Moliere  and  J.  J.  Rousseau  consulted  their  ser- 
vants, and,  I  must  confess,  it  afforded  me  great  pleasure 
the  next  morning  to  invite  my  portress  and  her  husband 
to  be  present  at  the  first  performance  of  my  writer. 

As  it  was  Sunday,  and  M.  Auguste  had  no  work  to  do, 
I  found  him  at  breakfast.  He  held  a  modest  sardine  with 
his  thumb  on  a  piece  of  bread,- while  in  the  other  hand  he 
had  a  knife,  the  handle  of  which  was  fastened  to  his  waist 
by  a  lanyard.  My  invitation  was  graciously  accepted, 


204  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

and  they  came  to  my  room  to  witness  the  aristocratic  per- 
formance of  a  nobleman  of  the  age  of  Louis  XV.  The 
mason's  wife  chose  this  question :  "  What  is  the  emblem 
of  fidelity  ?"  The  automaton  replied  by  drawing  a  pretty 
little  greyhound  lying  on  a  cushion.  Madame  Auguste, 
quite  delighted,  begged  me  to  make  her  a  present  of  the 
drawing,  while  her  husband,  having  by  this  time  finished 
his  breakfast,  begged  to  see  the  work,  for,  as  he  said, 

"I  understand  something  about  that  sort  of  thing,  for  I 
have  always  to  grease  the  vane  on  the  church  steeple,  and 
have  even  taken  it  down  twice.  Ah  !  if  I  were  to  direct 
my  attention  to  mechanics,  I  have  no  doubt  I  should  be 
very  successful." 

Although,  of  course,  he  understood  nothing  of  what  he 
saw,  the  worthy  mason  carefully  examined  the  mechanical 
arrangements ;  then,  as  if  yielding  to  an  impulsive  frank- 
ness, he  said,  in  a  kindly  protecting  tone, 

"  If  I  was  not  afraid  of  vexing  you,  I  would  make  an 
observation." 

"  Pray  do  so,  Monsieur  Auguste,  and  be  sure  I  shall  treat 
it  as  it  deserves." 

"Well,  in  your  place,  I  would  have  made  the  mechan- 
ism much  more  simple ;  for  then  those  who  do  not  under- 
stand that  sort  of  thing,  would  be  able  to  do  so  more 
easily." 

With  some  difficulty  I  maintained  sufficient  gravity  to 
reply : 

"  Your  observation  is  very  just,  Monsieur  Auguste ;  I 
had  not  thought  of  that :  but  be  assured  I  shall  now  profit 
by  your  suggestions,  and  speedily  remove  half  the  ma- 
chinery; there  will  be  quite  sufficient  left." 

"Oh,  certainly,"  the  mason  said,  believing  in  the  sin- 
cerity of  my  remarks,  "  there  will  be  quite  enough  left 
then." 


A  SEVERE  CRITIC.  205 

At  this  moment  the  garden-bell  rang,  and  M.  Auguste, 
ever  attentive  to  his  duties,  ran  to  answer  it,  ana  as  his 
wife  also  took  her  departure,  I  was  enabled  to  laugh  at  my 
ease. 

It  is  curious  that  an  automaton  which  was  visited  by  all 
Paris  and  gained  me  such  reputation  —  that  the  designer, 
which  interested  Louis  Philippe  and  his  family  so  greatly, 
should  at  the  outset  only  receive  the  stupid  criticism  of  a 
porter.  Well,  a  man  is  no  more  a  prophet  in  his  own 
house  than  in  his  own  country. 

It  was  more  extraordinary,  though,  that  I  had  eventu- 
ally to  make  an  alteration  in  the  automaton  for  the  follow- 
ing reasons :  the  public  (I  do  not  mean  the  educated  por- 
tion) generally  understand  nothing  of  the  mechanical 
effects  by  which  an  automaton  is  moved ;  but  they  are 
pleased  to  see  them,  and  often  only  value  them  by  the 
multiplicity  of  their  parts.  I  had  taken  every  care  to 
render  the  mechanism  of  my  writer  as  perfect  as  possible, 
and  had  set  great  store  on  making  the  clockwork  noiseless, 
In  doing  this  I  wished  to  imitate  nature,  whose  compli- 
cated instruments  act  almost  imperceptibly. 

Can  it  be  credited  that  this  very  perfection,  which  I  had 
worked  so  hard  to  attain,  was  unfavorable  to  my  automa- 
ton ?  On  its  first  exhibition,  I  frequently  heard  persons 
who  only  saw  the  outside,  say : 

"  That  writer  is  first  rate ;  but  the  mechanism  is  prob- 
ably very  simple.  It  often  requires  such  a  trifle  to  pro- 
duce great  results." 

The  idea  then  struck  me  of  rendering  the  clock-work  a 
little  less  perfect,  so  that  a  whizzing  sound  should  be 
heard,  something  like  cotton  spinning.  Then  the  worthy 
public  formed  a  very  different  estimate  of  my  work,  and 
the  admiration  increased  in  ratio  to  the  intensity  of  the 


206  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

noise.  Such  exclamations  as  these  where  continually 
heard :  "  How  ingenious  !  What  complicated  machinery  ! 
What  talent  such  combination  must  require  !" 

In  order  to  obtain  this  result,  I  had  rendered  my  auto- 
maton less  perfect ;  and  I  was  wrong.  In  this  I  followed 
the  example  of  certain  actors  who  overdo  their  parts  in 
order  to  produce  a  greater  effect.  They  raise  a  laugh, 
but  they  infringe  the  rules  of  art  and  are  rarely  ranked 
among  first-rate  artists.  Eventually,  I  got  over  my  sus- 
ceptibility, and  my  machine  was  restored  to  its  first  con- 
dition. 

My  writer  thus  finished,  I  could  have  ended  my  volun- 
tary imprisonment  if  I  pleased ;  but  I  wished  to  finish 
another  automaton,  for  which  a  residence  in  the  country 
would  be  requisite.  Although  this  second  automaton  was 
very  complicated,  it  did  not  so  fully  occupy  my  time  as 
the  first.  It  was  a  nightingale,  which  a  rich  merchant  of 
St.  Petersburg  had  ordered,  and  I  had  agreed  to  produce 
a  perfect  imitation  of  the  song  and  actions  of  this  delight- 
ful wood  minstrel. 

This  undertaking  offered  some  serious  difficulties ;  for 
though  I  had  already  made  several  birds,  their  singing 
was  quite  arbitrary,  and  I  had  only  consulted  my  own 
taste  in  arranging  it.  The  imitation  of  the  nightingale's 
pipe  was  much  more  delicate,  for  I  had  to  copy  notes  and 
sounds  which  were  almost  inimitable. 

Fortunately,  we  were  in  the  season  when  this  skillful 
songster  utters  his  delicious  accents ;  hence,  I  could  employ 
him  as  my  teacher.  I  went  constantly  to  the  wood  of 
Romainville,  the  skirt  of  which  almost  joined  the  street  in 
which  I  lived,  and,  laying  myself  on  a  soft  bed  of  moss  in 
the  densest  foliage,  I  challenged  my  master  to  give  me 
lessons.  (The  nightingale  sings  both  by  night  and  day  in 


THE  NIGHTINGALE'S  SONG.  207 

Continental  Europe,  and  the  slightest  whistle,  in  tune  or 
not,  makes  him  strike  up  directly.) 

I  wanted  to  imprint  on  my  memory  the  musical  phrases 
with  which  the  bird  composes  its  melodies.  The  following 
are  the  most  striking  among  them ;  tiou-tiou-tiou,  ut-ut-ut- 
tit-ut,  tchit-chou,  tchit-chou,  tchit-tchit,  rrrrrrm-rrrouit,  $c. 
I  had  to  analyse  these  strange  sounds,  these  numberless 
chirps,  these  impossible  rrrrouits,  and  recompose  them  by 
a  musical  process.  Now,  here  was  the  difficulty.  I  only 
knew  so  much  of  music  as  a  natural  taste  had  taught  me, 
and  my  knowledge  of  harmony  was  hence  a  very  feeble 
resource.  I  must  add  that  in  order  to  imitate  this  flexi- 
bility of  throat,  and  produce  these  harmonious  modulations, 
I  had  a  small  copper  tube,  about  the  size  and  length  of 
a  quill,  in  which  a  steel  piston  moving  very  freely,  pro- 
duced the  different  sounds  I  required ;  this  tube  represent- 
ed in  some  respects  the  nightingale's  throat. 

This  instrument  would  have  to  work  mechanically ;  clock 
work  set  in  motion  the  bellows,  opened  or  closed  a  valve 
which  produced  the  twittering,  the  modulation,  and  the 
sliding  notes,  while  it  guided  the  piston  according  to  the 
different  degrees  of  speed  and  depth  I  wanted  to  reach. 

I  had  also  to  impart  motion  to  the  bird :  it  must  move 
its  beak  in  accordance  with  the  sounds  it  produced,  flap  its 
wings,  leap  from  branch  to  branch,  &c.  But  this  part  of 
my  task  troubled  me  much  less  than  the  other,  as  it  was 
purely  mechanical. 

I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  to  the  reader  all  the  trials 
and  investigations  I  had  to  make ;  suffice  it  to  say  that, 
after  repeated  experiments,  I  created  a  system,  half 
musical,  half  mechanical,  which  only  required  to  be  im- 
proved by  fresh  studies.  Provided  with  this  instrument, 
I  hurried  off  to  the  wood  of  Romainville,  where  I  seated 


208  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

myself  under  an  oak,  near  which  I  had  often  heard  a 
nightingale  sing,  which  I  thought  was  the  "star"  among 
the  virtuosi.  I  wound  up  the  clockwork,  and  it  began 
playing  in  the  midst  of  profound  silence ;  but  the  last 
notes  had  scarce  died  away  ere  a  concert  commenced  from 
various  parts  of  the  wood,  which  I  was  almost  inclined  to 
regard  as  a  general  protest  against  my  clumsy  imitation. 

This  collective  lesson  did  not  suit  my  purpose,  for  I 
wished  to  compare  and  study,  and  could  positively  distin- 
guish nothing.  Fortunately  for  me,  all  the  mus,  ;ans 
ceased,  as  if  by  word  of  command,  and  one  of  them  beg-in 
a  solo :  it  was  doubtlessly  the  premier  sujet,  the  Duprez  of 
the  company  —  possibly  the  nightingale  I  have  just  men- 
tioned. This  tenor  indulged  me  with  a  succession  of  dul- 
cet sounds  and  accents,  which  I  followed  with  all  the  at- 
tention of  an  industrious  pupil. 

Thus  I  passed  a  portion  of  the  night ;  my  professor  was 
indefatigable,  and,  for  my  part,  I  was  not  weary  of  listen- 
ing. At  length  we  were  obliged  to  part,  for,  in  spite  of 
the  pleasure  I  felt,  I  began  to  grow  chilly  and  sleepy. 
However,  my  lesson  had  done  me  so  much  good,  that  the 
next  morning  I  began  making  important  corrections  in  my 
mechanism.  After  five  or  six  more  visits  to  the  wood,  I 
attained  the  required  result  —  the  nightingale's  song  was 
perfectly  imitated. 

After  eighteen  months'  stay  at  Belleville,  I  at  length 
returned  home  to  enjoy  the  company  of  my  wife  and 
children ;  in  my  absence  my  business  had  prospered,  and 
I,  by  the  manufacture  of  my  two  automata,  had  gained 
the  enormous  sum  of  seven  thousand  francs. 

Seven  thousand  francs  by  making  filings,  as  my  father 
used  to  say.  Unfortunately,  that  excellent  man  could  not 
enjoy  the  beginning  of  my  success  —  I  had  lost  him  a 


MY  RETURN  HOME.  209 

short  time  before  the  reverse  of  my  fortune.  With  his 
love  for  mechanical  inventions,  how  proud  he  would  have 
been  of  my  successes  ! 

Having  thus  regained  a  certain  degree  of  comfort,  I 
was  now  able  to  enjoy  some  amusement,  and  visit  my 
friends,  among  them  Antonio,  who  could  not  blame  me  for 
deserting  him  so  long.  In  our  long  conversations  my 
friend  never  ceased  to  encourage  me  to  realize  the  projects 
he  had  suggested  —  I  mean  my  theatrical  schemes,  of 
which  he  predicted  the  certain  success. 

While  not  neglecting  my  work,  I  had  recommenced  my 
conjuring  exercises,  and  began  to  make  the  acquaintance 
of  several  conjurers.  I  also  wished  to  see  those  ingenious 
personages  who,  not  having  a  theatre  to  display  their 
talents  in,  visit  the  cafe's.  Such  men  as  these  are  obliged 
to  employ  an  extraordinary  degree  of  skill,  for  they  have 
to  deal  with  people  who  are  set  upon  detecting  them.  I 
met  several  interesting  specimens  from  whom  I  learned 
something ;  but  a  slight  adventure  soon  told  me  I  must  be 
on  my  guard  in  the  choice  of  my  acquaintances. 

A  conjurer,  whom  I  had  formerly  met  at  Roujol's,  and 
to  whom  I  had  rendered  a  service,  introduced  me  one  day 

to  a  person  by  the  name  of  D .     He   was   a  young 

man  of  prepossessing  appearance  and  very  elegantly 
dressed,  while  his  manners  evidenced  the  thorough  gentle- 
man. 

"My  friend  tells  me,  sir,"  he  said,  after  the  usual  salu- 
tations, "  that  you  are  in  search  of  a  person  possessing  a 
certain  degree  of  address.  Although  I  have  no  wish  to 
compliment  myself,  I  may  be  able  to  show  many  things 
you  do  not  know." 

"I  ace6pt  your  offer  willingly,"  I  replied,  "but  I  must 
tell  you  before  hand  I  am  not  a  novice." 

0 


210  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN.  i 

This  introduction  took  place  in  my  study,  and  we  sat 
down  to  a  table  on  which  refreshments  were  served.  This 
was  a  trap  by  which  I  intended  to  make  my  visitor  more 
communicative.  I  then  took  up  a  pack  of  cards,  and 
showed  him  my  dexterity  in  sauter  la  coupe  and  various 
other  tricks. 

I  was  watching  D to  observe  the  impression  I  pro- 
duced on  him,  and  after  a  few  moments'  careful  following 
my  hands,  he  gave  his  comrade  a  gentle  wink,  of  which  I 
did  not  understand  the  meaning.  I  stopped  for  a  moment, 
and  not  wishing  to  ask  a  direct  explanation,  I  opened 
a  bottle  of  Bordeaux,  and  filled  his  glass  several  times. 
This  scheme  was  successful,  and  the  wine  loosened  his 
tongue,  and  he  told  me  something  that  surprised  me. 

"  I  have  a  remark  to  make,  M.  Robert-Houdin,"  he 
said,  emptying  his  glass,  and  holding  it  out  to  be  filled 
again  :  "  I  thought  I  had  come  here  to  deal  with  what  we 
call  a  '  pigeon ;'  I  perceive  it  is  quite  otherwise,  and  as  I 
do  not  wish  to  expose  the  tricks  by  which  I  earn  my  live- 
lihood, I  will  content  myself  with  the  pleasure  of  having 
formed  your  acquaintance." 

The  technical  terms  seemed  to  me  a  startling  contrast 
to  my  visitor's  elegant  manners,  still,  as  I  did  not  wish  to 
give  in  yet,  I  said,  in  a  tone  of  disappointment, 

"  I  hope,  sir,  you  will  recall  your  decision,  and  not  leave 
me  till  you  have  shown  me  how  you  handle  the  cards. 
You  can  do  this  without  prejudice,  I  think  ?" 

To  my  great  satisfaction  he  at  length  consented. 

"  Very  well,"  he  said,  taking  up  a  pack  of  cards ;  "  but 
you  will  see  our  modes  of  '  working  '  do  not  agree." 

It  would  be  difficult  for  me  to  give  a  name  to  what  he 
performed  in  my  presence.  It  was  not,  properly  speak- 
ing, sleight-of-hand ;  but  they  were  tricks  and  processes 


A  "PIGEON"  FANCIER.  211 

applied  to  cards,  and  were  so  unexpected,  that  they  must 
deceive  everybody.  This  manipulation  was  only  an  exhi- 
bition, however,  of  certain  principles  I  learned  at  a  later 
date. 

Like  singers  who  begin  by  being  urged,  and  who,  when 

they  have  once  started,  cannot  leave  off,  D ,  animated 

both  by  the  sincere  praise  I  offered  him  and  the  great 
number  of  glasses  of  Bordeaux  he  had  swallowed,  said  to 
me  with  that  frankness  common  to  drinkers,  "  And  now, 
sir,  I  will  give  you  another  hint.  I  am  not  a  professor  of 
sleight-of-hand,  but  only  perform  a  few  tricks  I  show  to 
amateurs.  These  lessons,  you  can  understand,  would  not 
suffice  for  my  livelihood,  and  I  will  tell  you,  then,"  he 
added,  emptying  his  glass  again,  and  holding  it  out  to  be 
filled,  as  if  he  wished  me  to  pay  for  his  confidence,  "  I 
visit  in  the  evening  houses  where  I  have  managed  to  gain 
an  introduction,  and  profit  by  some  of  the  principles  I 
have  just  shown  you." 

"I  suppose  you  give  a  performance ?"  D smiled 

slightly,  and  repeated  the  wink  he  had  once  before  given 
his  comrade. 

"  Performances  !"  he  replied.  "  Never  !  or  rather,  I 
give  them  after  my  own  fashion ;  I  will  explain  that  to 
you  presently,  but  I  will  first  amuse  you  by  telling  you 
how  I  manage  to  get  a  handsome  prize  for  the  lessons  I 
give  my  amateurs ;  after  that  I  will  return  to  my  per- 
formances. 

"  You  can  suppose,  for  reasons  easy  to  understand  that 
I  only  give  lessons  to  young  men  whose  pockets  I  presume 
are  well  lined.  On  beginning  my  explanations  I  tell  my 
pupil  that  I  leave  my  price  to  him,  and  during  the  lesson 
I  perform  an  interlude  which  must  heighten  his  generosity. 

"  Drawing  near  my  pigeon — pray  pardon  the  word — " 


MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

"I  have  already  done  so." 

"  Ah,  very  good ;  I  beg  your  pardon.  I  say,  taking 
one  of  his  buttons  in  my  hand,  '  Here  is  a  mould  piercing 
the  cloth,  and  you  might  lose  it.' 

"  At  the  same  time  I  throw  a  Louis  on  the  table ;  then 
I  examine  his  buttons,  one  after  the  other,  and  pretend  to 
draw  a  gold  piece  from  each.  As  I  only  perform  this 
trick  as  a  harmless  pleasantry,  I  pick  up  my  gold  with  the 
greatest  indifference.  I  even  push  my  indifference  so  far 
as  to  leave  one  or  two  by  mistake  on  the  table,  but  only 
for  a  short  time,  of  course. 

"  I  continue  my  lesson,  and,  as  I  expected,  my  pupil 
pays  but  slight  attention  to  it,  being  fully  engaged  with 
the  reflections  I  have  so  skillfully  suggested.  Can  he 
offer  five  francs  to  a  man  who  appears  to  have  his  pocket 
full  of  gold  ?  Of  course  not ;  the  least  he  can  do  is  to  add 
one  more  piece  to  those  I  had  displayed,  and  that  always 
happens. 

"  Like  a  modern  Bias,  then,  I  carry  all  my  fortune  about 
me ;  I  am  sometimes  tolerably  rich,  and  then  my  pockets 
are  well  lined.  Often  enough,  too,  I  am  reduced  to  a  dozen 
of  these  'yellow  boys,'  but  them  I  never  touch,  as  they 
are  the  instruments  by  which  I  procure  others.  Many 
times  I  have  gone  without  my  dinner,  though  having  this 
email  fortune  in  my  pocket,  because  I  laid  it  down  as  a 
rule  not  to  break  into  it." 

"  The  performances  you  give  in  society,"  I  said  to  my 
narrator,  in  order  to  bring  him  back  to  that  point,  "  are 
of  course  more  lucrative  ?" 

"  They  are  so,  but  prudence  prevents  me  giving  them 
so  often  as  I  should  like." 

"  I  do  not  understand  you." 

"  I  will  explain  my  meaning.     When  I  am  in  society  I 


A  MODERN  GREEK.  213 

am  a  young  man  of  good  family,  and,  like  all  young  men, 
play.  The  only  difference  is,  I  have  my  own  way  of  play- 
ing, which  is  not  that  of  all  the  world,  but  it  seems  it  is 
not  bad,  because  it  often  renders  chances  favorable.  You 
shall  judge." 

Here  my  narrator  stopped  to  refresh  himself,  then,  as 
if  doing  the  most  legal  or  harmless  thing  in  the  world,  he 
showed  me  several  tricks,  or  rather  acts  of  swindling, 
which  he  executed  with  so  much  grace,  skill,  and  simpli- 
city, that  it  would  be  impossible  to  detect  him. 

In  order  to  understand  the  effect  these  culpable  confes- 
sions produced  upon  me,  my  readers  ought  to  know  what 
it  is  to  love  a  science  of  which  you  seek  to  solve  the  mys- 
teries. Far  from  feeling  repugnance  or  even  disgust  at 
this  man  with  whom  justice  would  have  one  day  an  account 
to  settle,  I  admired,  I  was  stunned  !  The  finesse  and  per- 
fection of  his  tricks  made  me  forget  their  blameworthy 
application. 

At  length  my  Greek  left  me,  and  so  soon  as  he  was  gone 
the  remembrance  of  his  confessions  sent  the  blood  to  my 
cheeks.  I  was  as  ashamed  of  myself  as  if  I  had  been  his 
accomplice.  I  even  reproached  myself  severely  for  the 
admiration  I  could  not  restrain,  and  the  compliments  it 
extorted  from  me.  In  some  measure  to  compound  with 
my  conscience,  I  ordered  my  door  to  be  closed  against  this 
man ;  but  it  was  an  unnecessary  precaution  —  I  never 
heard  of  him  again. 

Strangely  enough,  in  consequence  of  my  meeting  with 

D ,  and  the  revelations  he  had  made  me,  I  was  enabled, 

at  a  later  period,  to  render  a  service  to  society  by  unmask- 
ing a  piece  of  swindling  which  the  most  skillful  experts 
could  not  detect. 

In  1849,  M.  B ,  a  magistrate  belonging  to  the  police 


214  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

office  of  the  Seine,  begged  me  to  examine  and  verify  one 
hundred  and  fifty  packs  of  cards,  seized  in  the  possession 
of  a  man  whose  antecedents  were  far  from  being  as  un- 
blemished as  his  cards.  The  latter,  indeed,  were  perfectly 
white,  and  this  peculiarity  had  hitherto  foiled  the  most 
minute  investigation.  It  was  impossible  for  the  most 
practised  eye  to  detect  the  least  alteration  or  the  slightest 
mark,  and  they  all  seemed  very  respectable  packs  of  cards. 

I  consented  to  examine  the  cards,  as  I  hoped  to  detect 
a  manoeuvre  which  must  be  clever  as  it  was  so  carefully 
concealed.  I  could  only  do  so  after  my  performance  was 
over,  and  so  each  night,  before  going  to  bed,  I  sat  down 
with  a  bright  lamp,  and  remained  at  my  task  till  sleep  or 
want  of  success  routed  me  from  my  post. 

Thus  I  spent  nearly  a  fortnight,  examining,  both  with 
my  eyes  and  a  strong  magnifying-glass,  the  form  and  im- 
perceptible varieties  in  the  cards  composing  the  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  packs.  I  could  detect  nothing,  and,  weary 
of  the  job,  I  began  to  agree  in  the  opinion  of  the  previous 
experts. 

"I  am  sure  there  is  nothing  the  matter  with  these 
cards,"  I  said  one  night,  angrily,  as  I  threw  them  across 
the  table. 

Suddenly  I  fancied  I  noticed  a  pale  spot  on  the  glis- 
tening back  of  these  cards,  and  near  one  of  the  corners. 
I  stepped  forward,  and  it  disappeared,  but,  strangely 
enough,  it  reappeared  as  I  fell  back. 

"What  a  magnificent  dodge!"  I  exclaimed,  in  my  en- 
thusiasm. "I  have  it:  that  is  a  distinguishing  mark." 

And  following  a  certain  principle  which  D had  ex- 
plained to  me,  I  assured  myself  that  all  the  cards  pos- 
sessed a  mark,  which,  according  to  its  position,  indicated 
the  value  and  color. 


A  CLEVER  TRICK.  215 

For  the  last  quarter  of  an  hour  I  have  been  burning 
with  a  desire  to  explain  to  my  readers  a  most  interesting 
process,  but  I  am  restrained  by  the  fear  that  this  ingenious 
swindling  may  facilitate  false  play.  Still,  it  is  an  indubi- 
table truth,  "that  to  avoid  a  danger,  it  must  be  known." 
Hence,  if  every  player  were  initiated  into  the  stratagems 
of  the  card-swindlers,  the  latter  would  find  it  impossible 
to  employ  them. 

I  am,  therefore,  inclined  to  make  the  communication  I 
have  stated,  that  a  single  mark  placed  in  a  certain  part  of 
a  card  is  sufficient  to  make  it  known.  To  explain  this,  I 
must  employ  a  diagram : 


216 


MEMOIRS  OP  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 
DIAGRAM  1. 


o 


tJO 


3 
<B 

O 

cs 

a 


Hearts..... 
Diamonds . 

Clubs 

Spades 


Suppose  a  card  divided  into  eight  parts  vertically,  and 
four  horizontally,  as  in  diagram  1 ;  the  former  will  indi- 
cate the  value  of  the  cards,  the  latter  the  suit.  The  mark 
is  placed  at  the  point  where  two  lines  intersect.  Such  is 
the  process :  practice  does  the  rest.  b  b 

As  for  the  process  employed  in  impressing  the  myste- 
rious mark  I  have  mentioned,  I  may  be  excused  from 


THE  WAY  TO  WIN.  217 

stating  it,  as  my  object  is  to  expose  swindling,  and  not 
show  the  way  to  do  it.  Suffice  it  to  say  that,  looked  at 
closely,  this  point  is  lost  in  the  white  of  the  card ;  but,  at 
a  distance,  the  light  renders  the  card  brilliant,  while  the 
mark  alone  remains  dull. 

At  the  first  blush,  it  will  appear,  perhaps,  rather  difficult 
to  find  out  the  division  to  which  the  isolated  dot  on  tho 
back  of  the  card  belongs.  Still,  by  a  little  attention,  it 
may  be  accurately  detected  by  a  practised  eye.  Thus, 
on  my  diagram,  the  dot  indicates  the  Queen  of  Diamonds. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  a  Greek  using  these  cards 
stakes,  I  will  not  say  his  honor  but,  his  liberty,  against 
fortune,  and  that  he  has  carefully  studied  an  art  on  which 
his  livelihood  depends. 

After  the  explanation  I  have  given,  I  can  easily  imagine 
my  reader  forming  an  heroic  determination. 

"  Since  these  things  take  place,"  he  says  to  himself, 
*'  I  will  only  play  with  chequered  cards,  and  so  I  shall  be 
safe." 

Unfortunately,  chequered  cards  are  better  adapted  for 
swindling  purposes  than  the  others,  and  to  prove  it,  I 
must  employ  another  diagram.  Suppose  the  chequer  to 
be  formed  of  dots  or  any  other  figures  regularly  arranged, 
as  is  usually  the  case  with  fancy  backed  cards : 


218 


MEMOIRS  OF  EOBERT-HOUDIN. 

DIAGRAM  2. 


O  • 


the  first  dot,  starting  from  the  left-hand  top  of  the  card, 
as  in  the  previous  diagram,  will  represent  hearts  ;  the 
second,  downwards,  diamonds ;  the  third,  clubs ;  and  the 
fourth,  spades.  If,  now,  another  small  dot  is  placed  by 
the  side  of  one  of  these  chequers,  it  will  indicate  the 
value  of  the  card.  This  dot  must  be  placed  in  one  of  the 
divisions  marked  in  •  a  king;  the  third,  a 

fig.  3.  The  topmost  ,^|&  queen ;  the  fourth,  a 
point  indicates  an  ace ;  -.^i^  knave ;  and  so  on.  Of 
the  next,  to  the  right,  •  course,  a  single  dot,  as 

in  fig.  2,  when  it  is  placed  by  the  third  point  or  color,  in- 
dicates the  eight  of  clubs. 

There  are  many  other  arrangements,  but  they  are  more 


HINTS  FOR  SHARPERS.  219 

difficult  to  explain  than  to  understand.  Thus  I  have  had 
chequered  cards  given  me  to  inspect  "which  had  had  no 
mark  at  all  on  them,  but  the  pattern  was  more  or  less 
altered  by  the  way  in  which  the  cards  were  shaped,  and 
this  simple  peculiarity  indicated  them  all. 

There  are  also  the  cards  on  the  edge  of  which  the  Greek, 
when  playing,  makes  a  mark  with  his  thumb-nail,  which 
he  can  detect  as  they  pass  through  his  hands.  If  he  is 
playing  ecarte",  the  kings  are  thus  marked,  and  when  these 
pass  through  his  fingers,  he  can,  by  a  familiar  trick,  leave 
them  on  the  pack  and  deal  the  next  card.  This  substitu- 
tion can  be  done  so  cleverly  that  it  is  impossible  to  detect 
it.  I  have  also  met  persons  of  such  practised  sight  that, 
after  playing  two  or  three  games  with  a  pack,  they  could 
recognize  every  card. 

Returning  to  the  prepared  cards,  it  may  be  asked  how 
it  is  possible  to  change  the  cards,  for  in  all  society  where 
play  goes  on  the  cards  are  only  taken  out  of  the  paper 
just  before  beginning. 

Well !  this  is  simple  enough.  The  Greek  finds  out  at 
what  shop  these  houses  buy  their  cards :  at  first  he  will 
make  some  small  purchases,  so  that  he  may  be  regarded 
as  a  regular  customer :  then,  on  one  fine  day,  he  says  that 
a  friend  has  commissioned  him  to  buy  a  dozen  packets  of 
packs.  The  next  day  these  are  brought  back  under  the 
pretext  that  they  are  not  of  the  color  required,  and  as  the 
packets  are  still  sealed,  the  tradesman,  full  of  confidence, 
changes  them  for  others. 

But  the  Greek  has  spent  the  night  in  undoing  the  bands 
and  sealing  them  up  again  by  a  process  known  to  conju- 
rers ;  the  cards  have  been  all  marked  and  properly  ar- 
ranged, and  as  the  tradesman  has  them  now  in  his  shop, 
the  trick  is  accomplished.  Before  long,  they  will  reach 
the  house  where  they  are  wanted. 


220  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

All  these  swindling  arts  are  very  shocking,  but  there  is 
another  even  more  so  in  the  shape  of  "  imperceptible  tele- 
graphy." Without  the  slightest  appearance  of  collusion, 
a  Greek  can  tell  his  partner  every  card  his  opponent 
holds  in  his  hand  by  a  system  similar  to  that  of  my  "  second 
sight." 

I  could  describe  many  other  tricks,  but  I  will  stop  here. 
1  believe  I  have  said  enough  about  card-sharpers  and  their 
swindling  to  induce  a  person  never  to  sit  down  but  with 
persons  whose  honor  is  unimpeachable. 


THE  FIRST  MAGICIAN.  £21 


CHAPTER    XII. 

The  Inventive  Genius  of  a  Sugar-baker — Philippe  the  Magician  —  His 
Comic  Adventures — Description  of  his  Performance — Exposition  of 
1844 — The  King  and  Royal  Family  visit  my  Automata. 

THE  long  looked-for  change  in  my  fortunes  had  at 
length  arrived ;  my  automata  had  gained  me  a  certain 
degree  of  reputation,  and  I  was  making  arrangements  to 
commence  my  performances.  Before  describing  these,  I 
must  devote  a  few  pages,  however,  to  some  account  of  my 
immediate  predecessor  in  the  conjuring  art,  whose  success 
in  Paris  at  this  period  was  most  brilliant :  I  mean  Philippe, 
the  renowned  magician,  sorcerer,  sleight-of-hand  per- 
former, and  conjurer. 

Philippe  Talon  was  born  at  Alais,  near  Nimes;  after 
having  carried  on  his  sweet  trade  of  confectioner  for  some 
time  in  Paris,  his  want  of  success  compelled  him  to  expa- 
triate himself.  London,  that  pays  de  Cocagne,  the  per- 
spective El  Dorado,  was  close  at  hand ;  so  our  tradesman 
proceeded  thither,  and  soon  set  up  again  in  trade  in  the 
capital  of  the  United  Kingdom.  The  French  confectioner 
had  fair  chance  of  success,  for  in  addition  to  the  English 
liking  for  sweet-stuff,  French  confectionary  has  ever  en- 
joyed a  reputation  in  that  country,  only  comparable  with 
that  which  real  English  blacking  has  so  long  held  in 
France.  Still,  despite  these  advantages,  it  seems  that 
fresh  difficulties  arose ;  the  fogs  of  the  Thames,  or,  as 


222  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

some  say,  dangerous  speculations,  melted  the  fragile 
wares ;  the  comfitures  suffered  a  decided  discomfiture. 

Talon  packed  up  a  second  time  and  went  to  Aberdeen, 
to  ask  shelter  from  the  Scotch  mountaineers,  to  whom  he 
offered  in  exchange  his  seductive  cates.  Unfortunately, 
the  Scotch  of  Aberdeen,  differing  greatly  from  the  moun- 
taineers in  La  Dame  Blanche,  wear  neither  silk  stockings 
nor  patent  leather  shoes,  and  consume  very  few  jujubes 
and  tarts.  Thus,  the  new  shop  would  soon  have  under- 
gone the  fate  of  the  other  two,  had  not  Talon's  inventive 
genius  found  an  issue  from  this  precarious  position. 

The  confectioner  rightly  thought  that,  in  order  to  sell 
wares,  they  must  be  known ;  and  in  order  for  them  to  be 
known,  they  must  be  made  known.  Relying  on  this  judi- 
cious reasoning,  Talon  soon  compelled  the  Aberdonians  to 
eat  his  sugar-plums,  and,  better  still,  to  pay  for  them. 

At  this  period,  there  was  a  company  of  actors  at  Aber- 
deen much  in  the  same  condition  as  Talon's  "goodies;" 
they  were  neglected,  and  no  one  cared  to  tfy  them.  In 
vain  had  the  manager  prepared  a  pantomime  full  of  tricks 
and  blue-fire,  the  public  remained  deaf  to  his  repeated 
appeals. 

One  fine  day,  Talon  called  on  the  Scotch  impresario: 
"I  have  a  proposal  to  make  to  you,  sir,"  he  said,  without 
further- preface,  "which,  if  accepted,  will  fill  your  theatre, 
I  am  convinced." 

"  Pray  explain  yourself,  sir,"  the  manager  said,  nib- 
bling at  the  bait,  but  putting  little  faith  in  a  promise 
which  he  had  good  reasons  for  believing  difficult  of  reali- 
zation. 

"  It  is  simply,"  Talon  continued,  "  to  join  to  the  attrac- 
tion of  your  performance  a  lottery,  for  which  I  will  pay  all 
the  cost.  This  shall  be  the  arrangement :  each  spectator, 


A  NOVEL  LOTTERY.  223 

on  entering,  must  pay,  in  addition,  the  sum  of  sixpence, 
giving  him  a  claim  — 

"  1.  To  a  paper  of  mixed  sugar-plums. 

"  2.  To  a  lottery-ticket,  by  which  he  may  gain  the  first 
prize,  of  the  value  of  five  pounds." 

Talon  also  promised  a  new  performance,  the  secret  of 
which  he  confided  to  the  manager  under  the  seal  of  dis- 
cretion. 

These  proposals  being  accepted,  the  bargain  was  soon 
completed,  and  the  intelligent  Talon  had  not  deceived  him- 
self. The  public  attracted  by  the  bonbons,  the  pantomime, 
and  the  promised  surprise,  filled  the  theatre. 

The  lottery  was  drawn ;  the  prize  made  one  person 
happy,  and  the  other  twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  spectators, 
provided  with  their  papers  of  sugar-plums,  consoled  their 
disappointment  by  exchanging  their  "goodies."  Under 
such  favorable  circumstances  the  pantomime  was  found 
charming. 

Still,  this  piece  was  drawing  to  its  close,  and  the  pro- 
mised surprise  had  not  yet  come  off,  when  suddenly  the 
dancers  in  the  ballet  arranged  themselves  in  a  circle,  a 
sharp  cry  was  heard,  and  a  magnificent  Punch  bounded 
on  to  the  stage.  It  was  Talon  disguised  by  two  cotton 
humps  and  the  traditional  costume. 

Our  new  artist  performed  Punch's  eccentric  dance  with 
rare  talent,  and  was  heartily  applauded.  To  thank  the 
audience  for  their  kind  reception,  the  dancer  tried  to  make 
a  bow,  but  managed  it  so  clumsily  that  he  fell  over  on  his 
side  and  could  not  rise  again.  The  performers  hastened 
to  pick  the  wounded  man  up ;  he  spoke  in  a  faint  voice, 
and  complained  of  a  broken  rib.  He  earnestly  asked  for 
a  box  of  Morrison's  pills,  and  a  servant  hastened  to  bring 
him  pills  of  an  enormous  size. 


224  ,         MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOTJDIN. 

The  public,  who  till  then  had  pitied  poor  Punch's  pain, 
and  remained  silent  sympathisers,  now  began  to  scent  a 
jest.  First  they  smiled,  and  then  they  laughed  when  the 
patient,  taking  one  of  the  pills,  pretended  to  swallow  it. 
Half  a  dozen  having  followed  the  same  road,  Punch  found 
himself  perfectly  recovered,  so,  making  a  polite  bow,  he 
retired  amidst  shouts  of  laughter. 

Philippe  had  given  his  first  performance  —  the  confec- 
tioner had  exchanged  the  barley-sugar  trick  for  the  ma- 
gician's wand. 

This  burlesque  scene  met  with  extraordinary  success, 
and  the  receipts  swelled  day  by  day,  until  the  confectioner 
had  disposed  of  all  his  wares.  Then  he  set  off  to  give  a 
specimen  of  his  new  talent  in  other  towns. 

I  do  not  know  whence  the  new  magician  acquired  his 
art,  but  it  is  probable  (historical  gaps  are  always  filled  up 
with  probabilities)  that  Talon  had  learned  conjuring,  as  he 
had  Punch's  dance,  to  amuse  his  friends.  One  thing  is 
certain,  the  performance  he  offered  the  worthy  Aber- 
donians  was  not  first  rate,  and  it  was  not  till  he  left  that 
town  that  he  made  the  great  improvement  to  which  he 
owed  his  future  reputation. 

Henceforth,  laying  aside  his  comfitures  and  Punch's 
garb  and  squeak,  Philippe  (the  name  the  conjurer  assumed) 
traversed  England,  giving  at  first  very  modest  perform- 
ances. Then,  his  repertory  becoming  gradually  increased 
by  a  certain  number  of  tricks  he  picked  up  from  conjurers 
of  the  day,  he  attacked  the  large  towns,  and  proceeded  to 
Glasgow,  where  he  built  a  wooden  theatre  in  which  to  give 
his  performances. 

While  the  magic  temple  was  building,  Philippe  noticed 
among  the  bricklayer's  lads  a  young  fellow  who  seemed  to 
have  remarkable  intelligence,  and  he  eventually  engaged 


A  "FILLER"  OP  THE  STATE.  225 

him  to  appear  on  the  stage  as  assistant  magician.  Macal- 
ister  (as  his  assistant  was  called)  had  a  natural  genius  for 
tricks  and  models;  he  required  no  apprenticeship  in  this 
mysterious  art,  and  indeed  soon  invented  some  tricks 
which  attracted  his  master's  attention. 

From  this  moment,  either  by  Macalister's  help  or  for 
some  other  reason,  success  attended  Philippe  everywhere, 
and  he  began  acting  in  theatres.  After  a  lengthened  tour 
through  England  he  crossed  over  to  Dublin,  where  he  ac- 
quired two  new  tricks,  which  were  the  foundation  of  his 
future  reputation. 

Three  Chinese,  who  had  come  to  France  to  perform 
some  very  startling  tricks,  attempted  some  performances 
at  Paris,  which,  owing  to  their  ill  success,  caused  a  quarrel 
among  the  Celestials.  In  France  as  well  as  in  China, 
"  horses  fight  when  there  is  no  hay  in  the  manger,"  and, 
though  our  jugglers  did  not  have  recourse  to  such  extremi- 
ties, they  separated.  One  of  them  proceeded  to  Dublin, 
where  he  taught  Philippe  the  "gold-fish"  trick,  as  well  as 
the  "  rings."  On  learning  the  first  of  these  tricks,  Philippe 
was  in  great  trouble  about  performing  it,  for  he  wanted  a 
robe.  He  could  not  assume  a  Chinese  costume,  as  his  face 
had  none  of  the  distinguishing  features  of  a  mandarin,  nor 
could  he  dream  of  a  dressing-gown,  for  however  rich  it  might 
have  been,  the  public  would  not  have  endured  such  a  slight. 
Hence  Philippe  extricated  himself  from  the  difficulty  by 
assuming  the  attire  of  a  magician.  It  was  a  daring  inno- 
vation, for,  till  that  period,  no  conjurer  had  ventured  to 
take  on  himself  the  responsibility  of  such  a  costume. 

Once  possessed  of  these  two  tricks,  Philippe  formed  tho 
project  of  returning  to  his  ungrateful  country ;  he,  there- 
fore, came  to  Paris  in  the  summer  of  1841,  and  performed 
at  the  Salle  Montesquieu.  The  gold-fish  and  ring  tricks, 

p 


226  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOTJDIN. 

a  brilliant  costume,  a  magnificent  pointed  cap,  and  a  com- 
fortably arranged  room,  soon  attracted  large  audiences, 
among  whom  was  the  manager  of  a  Vienna  theatre. 
Delighted  with  the  performance,  the  latter  on  the  spot 
offered  the  conjurer  an  engagement  at  half  profits,  which 
Philippe  willingly  accepted.  As  the  Salle  Montesquieu 
was  used  for  public  balls  during  the  winter,  this  engage- 
ment also  allowed  him  time  to  have  a  theatre  constructed 
in  readiness  for  his  return  to  Paris. 

The  opening  of  the  room  Bonne-Nouvelle  created  a  sen- 
sation in  Paris  when  Philippe  came  back  from  his  Austrian 
tour,  and  crowds  we"nt  to  see  the  gold-fish  trick,  which  the 
performances  in  the  Salle  Montesquieu  had  made  known. 

My  reader  will  have  the  kindness  to  accompany  me  to 
the  Palais  des  Prestiges  (as  the  new  temple  of  magic  was 
christened),  and  we  will  attend  one  of  the  magician's  per- 
formances. 

On  reaching  the  end  of  the  first-floor  passage  in  the 
Bonne-Nouvelle  Bazaar,  you  passed  through  a  doorway, 
and  were  quite  surprised  to  find  yourself  in  a  room  excel- 
lently adapted  for  this  style  of  performance.  There  were 
stalls,  pit,  gallery,  and  boxes ;  the  decorations  were  most 
elegant,  and,  above  all,  there  was  plenty  of  room  to  stretch 
your  legs. 

An  orchestra  composed  of  six  musicians  of  doubtful 
talent  executed  a  symphony  to  the  accompaniment  of  the 
melophone,  a  species  of  accordeon  recently  invented  by  a 
man  of  the  name  of  Leclerc,  who  undertook  the  musical 
arrangements  of  the  palace. 

The  curtain  rises. 

To  the  great  surprise  of  the  spectators  the  stage  is  in 
perfect  darkness. 

A  gentleman  dressed  in  black  emerges  from  a  side  door 


A  MAGIC  ILLUMINATION.  227 

and  walks  towards  us.  It  is  Philippe :  I  recognise  him 
by  the  Proven9al  twang  of  his  accent.  All  the  other  spec- 
tators take  him  for  the  manager,  and  fear  they  are  about 
to  hear  some  painful  intelligence,  as  this  gentleman  holds 
a  pistol  in  his  hand. 

Their  uncertainty  is,  however,  soon  dispelled,  for  Philippe 
introduces  himself.  He  states  that  he  has  been  delayed  in 
his  preparations,  but,  in  order  to  save  time,  he  will  light 
the  innumerable  candles  on  his  stage  by  firing  a  pistol. 
Although  a  fire-arm  is  not  required  for  the  experiment, 
and  is  only  intended  to  throw  powder  in  the  spectators' 
eyes,  the  candles  are  suddenly  lighted  at  the  sound  of  the 
detonation. 

The  audience  applaud  vociferously,  and  deservedly  so, 
for  this  trick  is  remarkably  striking.  However  much  it 
may  be  applauded,  the  time  it  requires  for  preparation, 
and  the  mortal  terror  it  occasions  the  performer,  are 
beyond  recompense. 

In  fact,  like  all  experiments  in  which  static  electricity 
plays  the  chief  part,  this  magic  inflammation  is  not  infalli- 
ble. When  this  misfortune  occurs,  the  position  of  the 
operator  is  the  more  embarrassing,  as  the  phenomenon  has 
been  announced  as  the  result  of  magic.  Now,  a  magician 
must  be  omnipotent,  or,  if  he  be  not  so,  he  must  avoid 
at  all  risks  any  failure  which  may  lower  his  prestige  in 
the  eyes  of  the  audience. 

The  stage  once  lighted,  Philippe  commenced  his  per- 
formance. The  first  part,  composed  of  very  average 
tricks,  was  relieved  by  the  manoeuvres  of  some  curious 
automata.  For  instance: 

The  Cotsack,  which  should  have  been  called  the  Grima- 
cer,  so  quaint  were  the  contortions  in  which  it  indulged. 
This  Cossack  was  also  a  very  clever  juggler,  for  it  passed 


228  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

into  its  pocket  with  considerable  skill  various  articles  of 
jewelry  its  master  had  borrowed  from  the  spectators. 

The  magic  peacock,  which  uttered  its  unmelodious 
screech,  expanded  its  gorgeous  plumes,  fed  from  its 
master's  hand,  &c. 

And  lastly,  a  Harlequin,  like  the  one  I  repaired  for 
Torrini. 

After  the  first  part  of  the  performance,  the  curtain  fell 
to  enable  preparations  to  be  made  for  a  scene  called  in  the 
bills,  UA  Festival  at  a  Palace  in  Nankin."  This  was  an 
attractive  title  for  those  who  dealt  in  that  description  of 
cloth,  but  was  only  chosen  to  call  to  the  spectator's 
memory  the  Chinese  trick,  which  would  end  the  perform- 
ance. 

When  the  curtain  rose  again  the  stage  was  entirely 
transformed.  The  tablecloths  had  been  replaced  by  bro- 
cades glistening  with  gold  and  precious  stones  (at  least, 
they  looked  so  at  a  distance) ;  the  can'dles,  although  so 
numerous  before,  had  been  multiplied,  and  gave  the  stage 
the  appearance  of  a  fiery  furnace,  the  veritable  abode  of 
an  ally  of  the  Evil  One. 

The  magician  made  his  appearance  in  a  costume  which, 
in  the  public  admiration,  it  must  have  exhausted  the  riches 
of  Golconda  to  buy,  and  the  Festival  of  Nankin  commenced 
with  the  very  clever  trick  derived  from  the  Chinese. 

Philippe  took  up  several  rings  about  eight  inches  in  dia- 
meter, and  intertwined  them  into  chains  and  knots  with 
the  greatest  possible  ease.  Then  suddenly,  when  it  seemed 
impossible  for  him  to  unravel  his  handiwork,  he  blew  upon 
them,  and  the  rings  fell  separately  at  his  feet.  This  trick 
produced  a  charming  illusion. 

The  one  that  succeeded  it,  and  which  I  never  saw  per- 
formed by  any  one  else,  was  quite  equal  to  the  preceding 
one  in  interest. 


FORTUNATUS'S  HAT.  229 

Macalister,  the  Scotch  bricklayer  (who  on  the  stage  was 
a  negro  of  the  name  of  Domingo),  brought  in  on  a  table 
two  sugar-loves  still  covered  with  that  horrible  paper 
which  the  honest  grocer  sells  at  the  price  of  colonial 
wares.  Philippe  borrowed  a  dozen  handkerchiefs  (not 
from  accomplices),  and  after  placing  them  in  a  blunder- 
buss, he  fired  at  one  of  the  sugar-loaves  chosen  by  the 
audience.  He  then  broke  it  asunder  with  an  axe,  and  all 
the  handkerchiefs  were  found  in  it. 

Next  came  Fortunatus" 8  hat.  Philippe,  after  producing 
from  this  hat,  which  he  had  borrowed  from  a  spectator, 
an  innumerable  number  of  objects,  at  last  pulled  out 
enough  feathers  to  make  a  bed.  The  most  amusing  part 
of  this  trick  consisted  in  the  conjurer  making  a  lad  kneel 
down,  who  was  completely  buried  in  this  avalanche  of 
feathers. 

Another  striking  trick  was  the  one  called  "  The  Kitchen 
of  Parafaragarmus."  At  Philippe's  request  two  school- 
boys came  on  the  stage,  whom  he  dressed,  one  as  scullion, 
the  other  as  professed  cook.  Thus  metamorphosed,  the 
two  young  cordons  blew  underwent  all  sorts  of  pleasantries 
and  mystifications.  (This  was  a  trick  of  Castelli's  school.) 

The  conjurer  then  proceeded  to  perform  the  trick ;  for 
this  purpose  he  suspended  from  a  tripod  an  enormous 
copper  caldron  full  of  water,  and  ordered  the  two  lads  to 
put  in  it  dead  pigeons,  an  assortment  of  vegetables,  and 
plenty  of  seasoning.  Then  he  lit  some  spirits  of  wine 
under  the  caldron,  and  pronounced  some  magical  incanta- 
tions. At  his  voice,  the  pigeons,  returning  to  life,  flew 
out  of  the  caldron ;  while  the  water,  vegetables,  and  sea- 
soning had  entirely  disappeared. 

Philippe  usually  ended  the  evening's  performance  with 
the  famous  Chinese  trick,  to  which  he  had  given  the  pomp- 
ous name  of  "Neptune's  Basins,  or  the  Gold-Fish." 


230  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

The  magician,  clothed  in  his  brilliant  costume,  mounted 
on  a  sort  of  low  table,  which  isolated  him  from  the  stage. 
After  a  few  manoeuvres  to  prove  he  had  nothing  about 
him,  he  threw  a  shawl  at  his  feet,  and,  on  lifting  it  up,  he 
displayed  a  glass  basin  filled  with  water,  in  which  gold-fish 
swam  about.  This  was  thrice  repeated,  with  the  same  re- 
sult ;  but,  in  his  desire  to  improve  on  his  brethren  of  the 
Celestial  Empire,  the  French  conjurer  had  added  a  varia- 
tion to  their  trick,  which  gave  an  amusing  termination  to 
the  performance.  Throwing  the  shawl  on  the  ground  for 
the  fourth  time,  several  animals,  such  as  rabbits,  ducks, 
chickens,  &c.,  emerged  from  it.  This  trick  was  performed, 
if  not  gracefully,  at  least  in  a  way  to  excite  the  lively  ad- 
miration of  the  spectators. 

Generally,  Philippe  was  very  amusing  in  his  entertain- 
ment. His  experiments  were  performed  with  a  good  deal 
of  conscientiousness,  skill,  and  dash,  and  I  have  no  hesi- 
tation in  saying  that  the  conjurer  of  the  Bonne-Nouvelle 
Bazaar  might  then  be  considered  one  of  the  best  of  the 
day.  Philippe  quitted  Paris  the  following  year,  and  has 
since  performed  entirely  in  foreign  countries,  or  the  pro- 
vinces. 

Philippe's  success  would  not  have  failed  to  rekindle  my 
desire  to  realize  my  theatrical  schemes,  had  not,  at  this 
period,  a  misfortune  hurled  me  into  a  state  of  profound 
wretchedness.  I  lost  my  wife. 

Left  with  three  young  children,  I  was  obliged  to  under- 
take their  charge,  although  so  unskilled  in  household 
cares.  Thus,  at  the  end  of  five  years,  robbed  by  some, 
deceived  by  others,  I  had  almost  lost  all  that  my  labor 
had  produced  me,  and  was  going  to  ruin. 

Forced  by  my  intolerable  position,  I  determined  on  re- 
constituting my  home,  and  I  married  again.  I  shall  have 


LOUIS  PHILIPPE.  231 

BO  many  occasions  of  speaking  of  my  new  wife,  that  I  shall 
refrain  at  present  from  praising  her  according  to  her 
deserts ;  besides,  I  am  not  sorry  to  abridge  these  domestic 
details,  which,  though  personally  important  to  me,  only 
possess  a  very  slight  interest  in  my  story. 

The  Exhibition  of  1844  was  about  to  open,  so  I  asked 
and  obtained  leave  to  exhibit  some  specimens  of  my  skill. 
The  site  granted  me,  opposite  the  door  of  honor,  was  un- 
doubtedly one  of  the  best  in  the  hall,  and  I  erected  a  cir- 
cular stand,  on  which  I  placed  a  specimen  of  all  the 
mechanical  pieces  I  had  as  yet  made.  Among  these  my 

Writer  took  the  first  place,  which  M.  G had  been 

kind  enough  to  lend  me  for  the  occasion.  I  may  say  I 
enjoyed  all  the  honor  of  the  exhibition,  for  my  productions 
were  constantly  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  spectators,  who 
were  all  the  more  eager  as  the  performance  was  gratis. 

Louis  Philippe  paid  daily  visits  to  the  Palace  of  In- 
dustry, and  as  my  automata  had  been  pointed  out  as 
deserving  his  attention,  he  evinced  a  wish  to  see  them,  and 
gave  me  twenty  hours'  notice  of  his  visit.  I  thus  had  time 
enough  to  make  all  my  arrangements.  The  king  arrived, 
holding  the  Comte  de  Paris  by  the  hand,  and  I  stood  on 
his  left  hand  to  explain  my  various  articles.  The  Duchess 
of  Orleans  was  by  my  side,  and  the  other  members  of  the 
royal  family  formed  a  circle  around  his  majesty,  while  the 
crowd,  kept  back  by  the  keepers  of  the  palace  and  the 
police  agents,  left  an  open  space  round  my  exhibition. 

The  king  was  in  a  charming  humor,  and  seemed  to  take 
a  pleasure  in  all  I  showed  him.  He  frequently  asked  me 
questions,  and  missed  no  occasion  to  show  his  excellent 
judgment.  At  the  end  of  the  stance,  the  party  stopped 
before  my  Writer.  This  automaton,  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind,  wrote  or  drew  according  to  the  question  asked. 


232  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

The  king  made  the  following  inquiry :  "  How  many  in- 
habitants does  Paris  contain  ?"  The  writer  raised  its  left 
hand  as  if  to  indicate  that  it  required  a  sheet  of  paper, 
on  receiving  which,  it  wrote  very  distinctly,  "  Paris  con- 
tains 998,964  inhabitants." 

The  paper  passed  from  the  king's  hand  into  those  of 
the  royal  family,  and  all  admired  the  beauty  of  the  wri- 
ting ;  but  I  saw  that  Louis  Philippe  had  a  critique  to 
offer,  his  smile  proved  that  plainly  enough.  Hence  I  was 
not  surprised  when,  pointing  to  the  paper  which  had  come 
back  to  him,  he  said : 

"Monsieur  Robert-Houdin,  you  did  not,  perhaps,  recol- 
lect that  this  number  will  not  agree  with  the  new  census, 
which  is  almost  completed  ?" 

Contrary  to  my  expectations,  I  felt  quite  at  ease  with 
my  illustrious  visitors. 

"  Sire !"  I  replied,  with  sufficient  assurance  for  a  man 
not  much  accustomed  to  the  society  of  crowned  heads,  "I 
hope  at  that  period  my  automaton  will  be  intelligent 
enough  to  make  any  necessary  corrections." 

The  king  appeared  satisfied  with  this  reply,  and  I  took 
advantage  of  his  good  humor  to  mention  that  my  Writer 
was  also  a  poet,  and  explained  that,  if  he  would  deign  to 
offer  an  unfinished  quatrain,  the  automaton  would  fill  up 
the  rhyme  in  the  fourth  line.  The  king  chose  the  fol- 
lowing : 

Lorsquo  dans  le  malheur,  accable"  de  souffrance, 
Abandonm;  de  tous,  1'homme  va  succomber, 
Quel  est  1'ange  divin  qui  vient  le  consoler  ? 
C'est    

L' Esptrance,  the  writer  added  to  the  fourth  line. 

«  That  is  really  charming,"  the  king  said  to  me.    "  But, 


AN  OMEN.  233 

Monsieur  Robert-Houdin,"  he  added,  in  a  confidential 
tone,  "you  must  have  given  your  writer  instructions  in 
the  poetic  art?" 

"  Yes,  sire,  as  far  as  my  weak  powers  permitted." 

"  Then  my  compliment  is  merited  more  by  the  master 
than  the  pupil." 

I  bowed  to  thank  the  king  as  much  for  his  compliment 
as  for  the  delicate  manner  in  which  it  was  conveyed. 

"Now  then,  Monsieur  Robert-Houdin,"  Louis  Philippe 
continued,  "  I  see  by  the  notice  attached  to  this  automaton 
that  it  is  a  draughtsman,  in  addition  to  its  merits  as  a 
writer  and  poet.  If  it  be  so,  come,"  he  said,  addressing 
the  Comte  de  Paris,  "  choose  your  own  subject  for  a  draw- 

w 

Thinking  to  cause  the  prince  an  agreeable  surprise,  I 
had  recourse  to  palmistry  to  influence  his  decision,  and  he, 
consequently  selected  a  crown.  The  automaton  began 
drawing  the  outline  of  this  regal  ornament  with  great  skill, 
and  every  one  followed  its  movements  with  interest,  when, 
to  my  great  disappointment,  the  point  of  the  draughtsman's 
pencil  broke,  and  the  crown  could  not  be  finished.  I  was 
going  to  recommence  the  experiment,  when  the  king  de- 
clined, with  thanks. 

"As  you  have  learned  to  draw,"  he  said  to  the  Comte 
de  Paris,  "you  can  finish  this  for  yourself." 

This  performance,  besides  being  the  prelude  of  the 
kindly  interest  the  Orleans  family  afterwards  displayed 
towards  me,  probably  exerted  some  influence  on  the  de- 
cision of  the  jury,  which  granted  mo  a  silver  medal. 


234  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

My  proposed  Reforms — I  build  a  Theatre  in  the  Palais  Royal — For- 
malities— General  Rehearsal — Singular  Effect  of  my  Performance  — 
The  Largest  and  Smallest  Theatre  in  Paris  —  Tribulation  —  My  first 
Performance — Panic — Discouragement — A  Fallible  Prophet — Reco- 
very—  Success. 

IT  may  seem  strange  that  I  thus  pass  from  my  mechani- 
cal labors  to  my  studies  in  sleight-of-hand;  but  if  my 
readers  will  bear  in  mind  that  these  two  sciences  were  to 
unite  in  producing  my  success,  it  will  easily  be  understood 
that  I  felt  an  equal  degree  of  affection  for  them,  and  that 
after  mentioning  one  I  must  allude  to  the  other.  The 
Exhibition  did  not  drive  from  my  thoughts  my  theatrical 
projects. 

The  instruments  intended  for  my  future  performances 
were  on  the  point  of  completion,  for  I  had  never  stopped 
working  at  them.  I  was  hence  enabled  to  commence  ope- 
rations as  soon  as  an  opportunity  offered.  In  the  mean 
time,  I  determined  on  the  changes  I  intended  to  introduce 
into  the  usual  routine  of  conjuring  performances. 

Remembering  Torrini's  principles,  I  intended  to  have 
an  elegant  and  simple  stage,  unencumbered  by  all  the 
paraphernalia  of  the  ordinary  conjurer,  which  looks  more 
like  a  toyshop  than  a  serious  performance.  I  would  have 
none  of  those  enormous  metal  shades  usually  placed  over 
objects  that  are  to  disappear,  and  whose  secret  duties 


CONJURING  REFORMS.  235 

cannot  escape  the  notice  of  the  simplest  spectator.  Ap- 
paratus of  transparent  or  opaque  glass,  according  to  cir- 
cumstances, would  suffice  for  all  my  operations.  In  the 
performance  of  my  tricks  I  also  intended  to  abolish  those 
double-bottomed  boxes  of  which  some  conjurers  made  such 
an  abuse,  as  well  as  all  instruments  designed  to  make  up 
for  the  performer's  want  of  skill.  Real  sleight-of-hand 
must  not  be  the  tinman's  work  but  the  artist's,  and  people 
do  not  visit  the  latter  to  see  instruments  perform. 

Of  course,  after  the  abuse  I  have  showered  upon  the 
use  of  accomplices,  I  quite  did  away  with  them.  I  have 
always  regarded  such  trickery  as  unworthy  a  real  artist, 
as  it  raises  doubts  as  to  his  skill.  Besides,  having  fre- 
quently acted  as  an  accomplice,  I  remembered  the  unfa- 
vorable impression  this  employment  had  left  upon  me  as 
to  the  talent  of  my  partner. 

Jets  of  gas,  covered  by  opaque  globes,  were  to  be  sub- 
stituted on  my  stage  for  the  thousands  of  candles,  whose 
brilliancy  is  only  intended  to  dazzle  the  spectators  and 
thus  injure  the  effect  of  the  experiments. 

Among  the  reforms  I  intended  to  introduce  on  the 
stage,  the  most  important  was  the  abolition  of  those  long 
tablecloths  reaching  to  the  ground,  beneath  which  an 
assistant  is  always  suspected,  and,  generally  with  some 
show  of  reason.  For  these  immense  chests  of  deception  I 
substituted  consoles  of  gilt  wood  after  the  style  of  Louis 
XV. 

Of  course,  I  abstained  from  any  eccentric  costume,  and 
I  never  thought  of  making  any  change  in  the  attire  civil- 
ized society  has  agreed  to  accept  for  evening  dress,  for  I 
was  always  of  opinion  that  bizarre  accoutrements,  far  from 
giving  the  wearer  any  consideration,  on  the  contrary  cast 
disfavor  upon  him. 


236  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

I  had  also  traced  out  for  my  performances  a  line  of 
conduct  from  which  I  never  diverged ;  that  was  to  make 
no  puns  or  play  upon  words,  and  never  to  permit  myself 
to  be  guilty  of  a  mystification,  even  were  I  sure  of  gaining 
the  greatest  success. 

Finally,  I  wished  to  offer  new  experiments  divested  of 
all  charlatanism,  and  possessing  no  other  resources  than 
those  offered  hy  skillful  manipulation,  and  the  influence  of 
illusions. 

This  was,  it  will  be  seen,  a  complete  regeneration  in  the 
art  of  conjuring ;  my  only  fear  was  whether  the  public 
would  accept  these  important  reforms  and  such  elegant 
simplicity.  It  is  true,  Antonio,  the  usual  confidant  of  my 
plans  and  thoughts,  strongly  encouraged  me. 

"Don't  be  alarmed  about  your  success,"  he  said;  "you 
have  precedents  to  prove  the  good  taste  of  the  public  and 
their  willingness  to  accept  reforms  based  on  reason.  Re- 
member Talma  appearing  suddenly  at  the  The&tre-Frangaia 
clothed  in  the  simple  antique  toga,  at  a  time  when  trage- 
dies were  performed  in  silk  coats,  powdered  perukes,  and 
red  heels." 

I  accepted  the  reasoning,  though  I  did  not  recognise 
the  justice  of  the  comparison.  In  fact,  Talma  could  im- 
pose his  taste  on  the  public  by  the  authority  of  his  talent 
and  reputation,  while  I,  who  as  yet  held  no  brevet  rank  in 
the  army  of  conjurers,  trembled  to  see  my  innovations  bad- 
ly received. 

We  had  now  reached  the  month  of  December,  1844,  and, 
having  nothing  further  to  detain  me,  I  decided  on  striking 
the  grand  blow  —  that  is  to  say,  I  went  out  one  morning 
determined  on  finding  a  site  for  my  theatre.  I  passed  the 
whole  day  in  attempting  to  find  a  spot  combining  advan- 
tage of  situation,  chance  of  receipts,  and  many  other  bene- 


MY  PREPARATIONS.  237 

fits.  I  stopped  through  preference  at^he  best  spots  and 
before  the  handsomest  houses,  but  found  nothing  that  ex- 
actly suited  me. 

Wearied  with  searching,  I  singularly  lowered  my  pre- 
tentions  and  wants.  Here  I  found  an  enormous  price 
asked  for  a  room  that  only  in  part  suited  me ;  there,  pro- 
prietors who  would  not,  for  any  consideration,  have  per- 
formances iu  their  houses ;  in  short,  obstacles  and  impos- 
sibilities on  all  sides. 

Thus  I  ran  about  Paris  for  a  fortnight,  passing  from 
the  largest  to  the  smallest  houses  in  turn,  and  ended  by 
convincing  myself  that  fate  was  adverse  to  my  plans. 
Antonio  relieved  me  from  my  difficulty,  for  that  worthy 
friend,  who  aided  me  in  the  search,  came  to  tell  me  he 
had  found  a  room  in  the  Palais  Royal  which  could  be 
easily  converted  into  a  theatre.  I  went  straight  to  164  in 
the  Galerie  de  Valois,  where  I  found,  in  fact,  all  the  con- 
ditions I  had  sought  elsewhere,  combined. 

The  proprietor  of  this  house  had  been  dreaming  for  a 
long  time  in  vain  about  a  benevolent  tenant,  who,  while 
paying  an  exhorbitant  price  for  his  room,  would  come  in 
without  expecting  any  repairs  to  be  done.  I  was,  there- 
fore, most  welcome,  when  I  not  only  agreed  to  pay  the 
rent  asked,  but  endured  passively  every  sort  of  imposition. 
Indeed,  I  would  have  given  much  more,  so  afraid  as  I  was 
lest  this  desirable  house  should  slip  from  me. 

When  the  bargain  was  concluded,  I  applied  to  an  archi- 
tect, who  soon  brought  me  the  plan  of  a  charming  room, 
which  I  jumped  at.  A  few  days  later  he  set  to  work, 
partitions  were  knocked  down,  the  ground  cleared,  and  the 
carpenters  began  erecting  my  theatre,  which  was  to  con- 
tain from  180  to  200  persons.  Though  small,  this  room 
was  all  I  wanted  for  my  style  of  performance ;  for  sup- 


238  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

posing,  according^to  my  famous  calculations,  that  it  was 
constantly  full,  it  would  be  an  excellent  affair  for  me. 

Antonio,  ever  filled  with  zeal  for  my  interests,  paid  con- 
stant visits  to  my  workmen  and  stimulated  their  activity, 
but  one  day  my  friend  was  struck  by  a  sudden  idea. 

"By  the  way,"  he  said,  "have  you  thought  of  asking 
permission  from  the  Prefect  of  Police  to  construct  your 
theatre?" 

"Not  yet,"  I  replied,  quietly.  "It  cannot  be  refused 
me,  as  this  construction  makes  no  change  in  the  architec- 
tural arrangements  of  the  house. 

"That  is  possible,"  Antonio  added,  "but  in  your  place 
I  would  take  this  step  immediately,  that  no  difficulty  may 
occur  when  it  is  too  late." 

I  followed  his   advice,  and  we   went  together  to  M. 

X 's  office,  who  then  had  the  direction  of  theatrical 

affairs.  After  an  hour  waiting,  we  were  introduced  to  the 
head  of  the  office,  who,  being  at  the  moment  engaged  in 
some  interesting  reading,  did  not  seem  even  to  notice  our 

presence.     In  ten  minutes,  however,  M.  X laid  down 

his  book,  opened  and  shut  a  few  drawers,  called  his  clerk, 
gave  orders,  lifted  his  spectacles,  and  made  us  a  sign  that 
he  was  ready  to  hear  a  sentence  which  I  had  already  com- 
menced twice  or  thrice  without  being  able  to  end  it.  This 
impertinent  coolness  made  my  blood  boil;  still  I  said,  as 
politely  as  my  vexation  would  allow  me, 

"  I  have  come,   sir,  to  ask  your   permission  to  open  a, 
room  for  performances  of  magic  and  sleight-of-hand  in  the 
Palais  Royal." 

"Sir,"  the  head  of  the  office  replied,  very  dryly,  "if 
you  have  chosen  the  Palais  Royal  for  your  performance,  I 
can  tell  you  you  will  not  obtain  permission." 

"Why  so,  sir?"  I  said,  in  consternation. 


THE  PREFECT  OF  POLICE.  239 

"  Because  a  ministerial  decree  forbids^any  new  establish- 
ment being  opened  there." 

"  But  pray  consider,  sir,  that,  not  being  aware  of  this  de- 
cision, I  have  taken  a  room  on  a  long  lease,  and  my  thea- 
tre is  at  this  moment  being  built.  The  refusal  of  this  per- 
mission will  be  my  ruin.  What  can  I  do  now?" 

"That  is  not  my  business,"  the  bureaucrat  replied,  dis- 
dainfully; "I  am  not  a  theatrical  agent." 

With  these  words  M.  X ,  after  the  method  employ- 
ed by  solicitors  and  physicians  to  announce  that  a  consult- 
ation is  over,  rose,  led  us  to  the  door,  and,  himself  open- 
ing it,  showed  us  clearly  what  we  had  to  do.  Antonio 
and  myself,  equally  in  despair,  remained  for  more  than  an 
hour  at  the  door  of  the  Prefecture,  vainly  taxing  our 
brains  how  to  escape  from  this  difficulty.  With  all  our 
reasoning,  we  always  arrived  at  the  mournful  conclusion 
that  we  could  do  no  less  than  stop  the  building,  and  com- 
pound with  B to  take  the  lease  off  my  hands.  It  was 

my  ruin,  Antonio  understood  as  well  as  I,  and  he  could 
offer  me  no  consolation. 

"But,  stay,"  he  said  suddenly,  striking  his  forehead,  "  I 
have  an  idea.  Tell  me,  during  the  late  exhibition,  did  you 
not  sell  a  '  mysterious  clock'  to  M.  Benjamin  Delessert,  a 
banker?" 

"Well,  suppose  I  did,  what  has  that  to  do  with " 

"What!  do  you  not  understand  me ?  M.  Delessert  is 
brother  of  the  Prefect  of  Police.  Go  and  see  him ;  he  is 
said  to  be  good  hearted,  perhaps  he  will  give  you  good 
advice,  or  even  better  than  that.  If  he  would  speak  to  his 
brother  on  your  behalf,  we  should  be  saved,  for  M.  Gabriel 
Delessert  is  omnipotent  in  theatrical  matters." 

I  adopted  Antonio's  advice  with  joy,  and  proceeded  to 
carry  it  into  effect.  M.  B.  Delessert  received  me  kindly, 


240  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT  HOUDIN. 

complimented  me  on  the  clock,  with  which  he  was  quite 
satisfied,  and  made  me  inspect  his  magnificent  picture- 
gallery,  in  which  it  was  put  up.  Emboldened  by  this  kind 
reception,  I  explained  to  him  the  embarrassment  in  which 
I  was  placed. 

"  Well,  M.  Robert-Houdin,  he  said  to  me,  "  console 
yourself;  we  may  possibly  arrange  this  affair.  I  am  go- 
ing to  give  a  large  party  next  Wednesday  evening,  to 
which  my  brother  has  promised  to  come.  Do  me  the 
pleasure  to  join  us ;  you  will  give  us  a  specimen  of  your 
talents,  and  when  M.  le  PreTet  has  learned  to  appreciate 
you,  I  will  speak  to  him  of  your  matter."  r« 

On  Wednesday,  I  proceeded  to  the  house  of  my  new 
protector,  who  had  the  kindness  to  present  me  to  some  of 
his  guests,  while  confidentially  praising  my  sleight-of-hand 
talents.  My  performance  came  off,  and,  judging  by  the 
applause  I  received,  I  may  say  it  justified  their  anticipated 
compliments.  A  week  had  scarce  elapsed  when  I  receiv- 
ed a  summons  to  the  office  of  Prefect  of  Police.  I  went 
there  with  all  speed,  and  M.  Gabriel  Delessert  informed 
me  that  he  had  been  able  to  induce  the  minister  to  revoke 
his  decision.  "Hence  you  can  now  go,"  he  added,  "and 

obtain  your  permission  in  M.  X 's  office,  where  it  has 

been  sent  for  some  formalities." 

It  was  curious  about  my  reception  on  this  occasion,  but 

M.  X displayed  such  extreme  politeness  towards  me, 

that  it  largely  made  up  for  the  cavalier  treatment  he  had 
offered  me  on  the  first  occasion.  Far  from  leaving  me 
standing,  he  would  willingly  ha.ve  offered  me  two  chairs 
instead  of  one,  and  when  I  quitted  his  office,  he  over- 
whelmed me  with  all  the  attention  due  to  a  man  protected 

by  a  superior  power.  I  was  too  happy  to  bear  M.  X 

any  malice ;  hence  we  separated  quite  reconciled. 


MY  FIRST  REHEARSAL.  241 

I  will  spare  my  readers  the  numberless  tribulations 
which  accompanied  my  unending  building;  mistakes  in 
time  and  money  are  so  usual  in  such  matters,  that  I  need 
not  allude  to  them  here.  At  length,  all  this  was  over,  and 
with  the  liveliest  pleasure  I  saw  the  last  workman  depart 
not  to  return  again. 

We  had  now  reached  the  end  of  June,  and  I  hoped  to 
commence  at  the  beginning  of  July.  For  this  purpose  I 
hastened  my  preparations,  for  each  day  was  an  enormous 
loss,  as  I  was  spending  much  and  earning  nothing. 

I  had  already  given  some  partial  rehearsals,  and  I  now 
decided  on  holding  one  to  precede  the  general  rehearsal, 
but,  as  I  was  not  quite  sure  of  the  success  of  my  experi- 
ments, I  only  invited  half  a  dozen  intimate  friends,  pledged 
to  give  me  their  opinion  with  the  greatest  severity.  This 
performance  was  fixed  for  the  25th  June,  1845,  and  on 
that  day  I  made  my  preparations  with  as  much  care  as  if 
I  were  going  to  give  my  opening  performance,  for  I  had 
been  suffering  for  nearly  a  month  from  a  regular  panic, 
which  I  could  attribute  to  no  other  cause  than  my  nervous 
and  impressionable  temperament. 

I  could  not  get  a  wink  of  sleep,  my  appetite  had  left 
me,  and  I  thought  of  my  performances  with  a  species  of 
dread.  I,  who  had  hitherto  treated  so  lightly  the  per- 
formances I  gave  to  my  friends  —  I,  who  had  obtained  such 
success  at  Aubusson,  trembled  like  a  child. 

The  reason  was,  that  hitherto  I  had  performed  before 
spectators  ever  smiling  or  ready  to  smile,  and  the  success 
of  my  experiments  made  no  difference  to  me.  Now,  I 
was  about  to  appear  before  a  real  audience,  and  I  trembled 
at  the  thought  of  "the  right  they  purchased  at  the 
door." 

On  the  appointed  evening,  at  eight  precisely,  my  friends 

Q 


242  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

having  duly  arrived,  the  curtain  rose,  and  I  appeared  on 
the  stage.  Half  a  dozen  smiles  greeted  my  appearance, 
which  rekindled  my  courage  and  even  gave  me  a  species 
of  coolness.  The  first  of  my  experiments  was  performed 
very  decently,  and  yet  my  address  was  very  badly  re- 
peated. I  recited  it  like  a  schoolboy  who  tries  to  remember 
his  lesson,  but  the  good  favor  of  my  spectators  once  ac- 
quired, I  continued  famously. 

To  explain  what  follows,  I  must  mention  that,  during 
the  whole  day,  heavy  clouds  had  hung  over  Paris;  and 
the  evening,  far  from  bringing  any  relief,  wafted  into  the 
room  puffs  of  heated  air,  which  seemed  to  issue  from  a 
stove. 

Well,  I  had  scarcely  reached  the  middle  of  the  first  part, 
when  two  of  my  spectators  had  yielded  to  the  soporific 
influences  of  the  weather  and  my  "patter."  I  could 
excuse  them,  however,  for  my  own  eye-lids  were  beginning 
to  droop.  Not  being  accustomed  to  sleep  standing,  how- 
ever, I  held  my  own. 

But  it  is  well  known  that  nothing  is  so  contagious  as 
sleep,  hence  -  the  epidemic  made  rapid  progress.  At  the 
end  of  a  few  moments  the  last  of  the  survivors  let  his  head 
fall  on  his  chest  and  completed  the  sextett,  whose  snoring, 
continually  crescendo,  at  length  drowned  my  voice.  My 
situation  was  disagreeable,  and  though  I  tried  to  arouse . 
my  audience  by  speaking  in  a  louder  key,  I  only  succeeded 
in  causing  one  or  two  eye-lids  to  open,  which,  after  a  few 
insane  winks,  closed  again. 

At  length  the  first  part  of  the  performance  was  over 
and  the  curtain  fell,  and  with  much  pleasure  I  stretched 
myself  in  an  arm-chair  to  enjoy  a  few  minutes'  rest !  Five 
minutes  would  be  enough,  and  I  was  asleep  before  I  could 
repel  the  invader.  My  son,  who  helped  me  on  the  stage, 


A  SLEEPY  AUDIENCE.  243 

had  not  waited  so  long ;  he  had  laid  himself  on  the  ground 
and  was  sleeping  like  a  top,  while  my  wife,  a  busy,  coura- 
geous woman,  though  struggling  against  the  common  foe, 
watched  near  me,  and,  in  her  tender  care,  did  not  disturb 
a  sleep  I  required  so  much.  Besides,  she  had  peeped 
through  the  hole  in  the  curtain,  and  our  spectators  seemed 
so  happy,  that  she  had  not  the  heart  to  disturb  them. 
But,  insensibly,  her  strength  betrayed  her  courage,  and 
unable  to  resist  the  temptation  of  a  nap,  she  fell  asleep 
too. 

The  pianist,  who  represented  my  orchestra,  having  seen 
the  curtain  fall,  and  hearing  no  movement  on  the  stage, 
thought  my  performance  was  over,  and  determined  on 
going.  As  the  porter  had  orders  to  turn  off  the  gas  at 
the  main  when  he  saw  my  pianist  go  out,  and  was  most 
anxious  to  be  exact  at  the  beginning  of  his  engagement, 
he  hastened  to  obey  my  orders,  and  plunged  the  room  into 
utter  darkness. 

We  had  been  enjoying  this  delightful  sleep  for  about 
two  hours,  when  I  was  aroused  by  a  confused  sound  of 
voices  and  shouts.  I  rubbed  my  eyes  and  wondered  where 
I  was,  but  seeing  nothing,  I  grew  quite  alarmed.  "  Can 
I  possibly  have  gone  blind  ?"  I  exclaimed ;  "  I  can  see 
nothing !"  __§. 

"Hang  it,  no  more  can  we  see  anything  !"  said  a  voice, 
which  I  recognized  as  Antonio's.  "  For  goodness'  sake, 
give  us  a  light !" 

"Yes,  yes,  a  light !"  my  five  other  spectators  repeated 
in  chorus. 

We  were  soon  on  our  feet ;  the  curtain  was  raised,  and 
then,  having  lighted  some  candles,  we  saw  our  five  sleepers 
rubbing  their  eyes,  and  trying  to  find  out  where  they  were ; 


244  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

while  Antonio  was  growling  away  under  the  stalls,  where 
he  had  fallen  asleep. 

All  was  then  explained ;  we  had  a  hearty  laugh  at  the 
adventure,  and  separated  with  the  promise  of  meeting 
again. 

There  were  only  four  days  to  the  1st  of  July,  and  to 
any  one  acquainted  with  the  preparations  for  a  first  per- 
formance, and,  far  more  important  still,  for  opening  a 
theatre,  this  lapse  of  time  will  appear  very  short,  for  there 
is  always  so  much  to  be  done  at  the  last  moment.  Thus, 
the  1st  of  July  arrived,  and  I  was  not  prepared,  and  the 
opening  did  not  take  place  till  three  days  later. 

On  this  day,  by  a  strange  coincidence,  the  Hippodrome 
and  the  "  fantastic  soire'es  "  of  Robert-Houdin,  the  largest 
and  smallest  stage  in  Paris,  were  opened  to  the  public. 
The  3d  of  July,  1845,  saw  two  bills  placarded  on  the  walls 
of  Paris ;  one  enormous,  belonging  to  the  Hippodrome, 
while  the  other,  of  far  more  modest  proportions,  announced 
my  performances.  Still,  as  in  the  fable  of  the  reed  and 
the  oak,  the  large  theatre,  in  spite  of  the  skill  of  the 
managers,  has  undergone  many  changes  of  fortune ;  while 
the  smaller  one  has  continually  enjoyed  the  public  favor. 

I  have  sacredly  kept  a  proof  of  my  first  bill,  the  form 
and  color  of  which  has  always  remained  the  same  since 
that  date.  I  copy  it  word  for  word  here,  both  to  furnish 
an  idea  of  its  simplicity,  and  to  display  the  programme 
of  the  experiments  I  then  offered  to  the  public : 


MY  FIRST  BILL.  245 


TO-DAY,  THURSDAY,  JULY  3,  1845. 
FIRST  REPRESENTATION 

or 

THE  FANTASTIC  SOIREES 

OF 

ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

AUTOMATA,  SLEIGHT-OF-HAND,  MAGIC. 

The  Performance  will  be  composed  of  entirely  novel  Experiments 
invented  by  M.  ROBEBT-HOUDIK. 


AMONG    THEM    BEING: 


THE    CABALISTIC    CLOCK. 
AUBIOL   AND    DBBUREAU 


THE    OKANQE-TBEE. 

THE    MYSTERIOUS    BOUQUET. 


THE    HANDKERCHIEF. 
riKRRuT   IN   THE    EGG. 


OBEDIENT    CABDS. 

THE    MIBACULOUS    FISH. 


THE    FASCINATING    OWL. 

THE  PASTRYCOOK  OF  THF  PALAIS 


BOYAL. 


TO   COMMENCE  AT   EIGHT  O'CLOCK. 
Box-office  open  at  Half-past  Seven. 

Price  of  places :  Upper  Boxes,  1  fr.  50  c. ;  Stalls,  8  fr. ;  Boxes, 
4  fr.  ;  Dress  Circle,  5  fr. 


The  day  of  my  first  representation  had  at  length  ar- 
rived. To  say  how  I  spent  it  is  impossible ;  all  I  remem- 
ber is,  that,  at  the  end  of  a  feverish  and  sleepless  night, 


246  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOTJDIN. 

occasioned  by  the  multiplicity  of  my  tasks,  I  had  to  or- 
ganise and  foresee  everything,  for  I  was  at  once  manager, 
machinist,  author  and  actor.  What  a  terrible  responsi- 
bility for  a  poor  artist,  whose  life  had  hitherto  been  spent 
among  his  tools ! 

At  seven  in  the  evening,  a  thousand  things  had  still  to 
be  done,  but  I  was  in  a  state  of  febrile  excitement  which 
doubled  my  strength  and  energy,  and  I  got  through  them 
all. 

Eight  o'clock  struck  and  echoed  through  my  heart  like 
the  peal  that  summons  the  culprit  to  execution ;  never  in 
my  life  did  I  experience  such  emotion  and  torture.  Ah  ! 
if  I  could  only  draw  back !  Had  it  been  possible  to  fly 
and  abandon  this  position  I  had  so  long  desired,  with  what 
happiness  would  I  have  returned  to  my  peaceful  avoca- 
tions !  And  yet,  why  did  I  feel  this  mad  terror  ?  I  know 
not,  for  three-fourths  of  the  room  were  filled  with  persons 
on  whose  indulgence  I  could  rely. 

I  made  a  final  attack  on  my  pusillanimity. 

"  Come !"  I  said  to  myself,  "  courage !  I  have  my 
name,  my  future,  my  children's  fortune  at  stake;  cou- 
rage !" 

This  thought  restored  me;  I  passed  my  hand  several 
times  over  my  agitated  features,  ordered  the  curtain  to  be 
raised,  and  without  further  reflection  I  walked  boldly  on 
the  stage. 

My  friends,  aware  of  my  sufferings,  received  me  with 
some  encouraging  applause ;  this  kind  reception  restored 
my  confidence,  and,  like  a  gentle  dew,  refreshed  my  mind 
and  senses.  I  began. 

To  assert  that  I  acquitted  myself  fairly  would  be  a 
proof  of  vanity,  and  yet  it  would  be  excusable,  for  I  re- 
ceived repeated  signs  of  applause  from  my  audience.  But 


I  AM  A  COWARD.  247 

how  to  distinguish  between  the  applause  of  the  friendly 
and  the  paying  public?  I  was  glad  to  deceive  myself, 
and  my  experiments  gained  by  it. 

The  first  part  was  over,  and  the  curtain  fell.  My  wife 
came  directly  to  embrace  me,  to  encourage  me,  and  thank 
me  for  my  courageous  efforts.  I  may  now  confess  it :  I 
believed  that  I  had  been  alone  severe  to  myself,  and  that 
it  was  possible  all  this  applause  was  sterling  coin.  This 
belief  did  me  an  enormous  good ;  and  why  should  I  con- 
ceal it,  tears  of  joy  stood  in  my  eyes,  which  I  hastened  to 
wipe  away  lest  my  feelings  might  prevent  my  preparations 
for  the  second  part. 

The  curtain  rose  again,  and  I  approached  my  audience 
with  a  smile  on  my  lips.  I  judged  of  this  change  in  my 
face  by  those  of  my  spectators,  for  they  began  all  at  once 
to  share  my  good  humor. 

How  many  times  since  have  I  tried  this  imitative  faculty 
on  the  part  of  the  public  ?  If  you  are  anxious,  ill-dis- 
posed, or  vexed,  or  should  your  face  bear  the  stamp  of 
any  annoying  impression,  your  audience,  straightway  imi- 
tating the  contraction  of  your  features,  begins  to  frown, 
grows  serious,  and  ill-disposed  to  be  favorable  to  you.  If, 
however,  you  appear  on  the  stage  with  a  cheerful  face,  the 
most  sombre  brows  unwrinkle,  and  every  one  seems  to  say 
to  the  artist :  "  How  d'ye  do,  old  fellow,  your  face  pleases 
me,  I  only  want  an  opportunity  to  applaud  you."  Such 
seemed  to  be  the  case  with  my  public  at  this  moment. 

It  was  more  easy  for  me  to  feel  at  my  ease  as  I  was  be- 
ginning my  favorite  experiment,  "  the  surprising  pocket- 
handkerchief,"  a  medley  of  clever  deceptions.  After 
borrowing  a  handkerchief,  I  produced  from  it  a  multitude 
of  objects  of  every  description,  such  as  sugar-plums, 
feathers  of  every  size  up  to  a  drum-major's,  fans,  comic 


248  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

journals,  and,  as  a  finale,  an  enormous  basket  of  flowers, 
which  I  distributed  to  the  ladies.  This  trick  was  perfectly 
successful,  but,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  had  it  at  my  fingers' 
ends. 

The  next  performance  was  the  "  orange- tree,"  and  I 
had  every  reason  to  calculate  on  this  trick,  for,  in  my  pri- 
vate rehearsals,  it  was  the  one  I  always  did  best.  I  began 
with  a  few  juggling  tricks  as  introduction,  which  were  per- 
fectly successful,  and  I  had  every  reason  to  believe  I  was 
getting  through  it  capitally,  when  a  sudden  thought  crossed 
my  mind  and  paralyzed  me.  I  was  assailed  by  a  panic 
which  must  have  been  felt  to  be  understood,  and  I  will  try 
to  explain  it  by  an  illustration. 

When  you  are  learning  to  swim,  the  teacher  begins  by 
giving  you  this  important  piece  of  advice ;  "  Have  confi- 
dence, and  all  will  be  well."  If  you  follow  his  advice, 
you  can  easily  keep  yourself  up  on  the  water,  and  it  seems 
perfectly  natural ;  thus  you  learn  to  swim.  But  it  often 
happens  that  a  sudden  thought  crosses  your  mind  like 
lightning :  "  Suppose  my  strength  failed  me  !"  From 
that  time  you  hurry  your  movements,  you  redouble  your 
speed,  the  water  no  longer  sustains  you,  you  flounder 
about,  and,  if  a  helping  hand  were  not  by,  you  would  be 
lost. 

Such  was  my  situation  on  the  stage ;  the  thought  had 
suddenly  struck  me :  "  Suppose  I  were  to  fail !"  And 
immediately  I  began  to  talk  quick,  hurried  on  in  my 
anxiety  to  finish,  felt  confused,  and,  like  the  tired  swim- 
mer, I  floundered  about  without  being  able  to  emerge  from 
the  chaos  of  my  ideas. 

Oh !  then  I  experienced  a  torture,  an  agony  which  I 
could  not  describe,  but  which  might  easily  become  mortal 
were  it  prolonged. 


AN  UTTER  FAILURE.  249 

The  real  public  were  cold  and  silent,  my  friends  were 
foolish  enough  to  applaud,  but  the  rest  remained  quiet.  I 
scarcely  dared  to  look  round  the  room,  and  my  experi- 
ment ended  I  know  not  how. 

I  proceeded  to  the  next,  but  my  nervous  system  had 
reached  such  a  degree  of  irritation  that  I  no  longer  knew 
what  I  said  or  did.  I  only  felt  that  I  was  speaking  with 
extraordinary  volubility,  so  that  the  four  last  tricks  of  my 
performance  were  done  in  a  few  minutes. 

The  curtain  fell  very  opportunely;  my  strength  was 
exhausted ;  but  a  little  longer  and  I  should  have  had  to 
crave  the  indulgence  of  my  audience. 

In  my  life  I  never  passed  so  frightful  a  night  as  the  one 
following  my  first  performance.  I  had  a  fever,  I  am  quite 
certain,  but  that  was  as  nothing  in  comparison  with  my 
moral  sufferings.  I  had  no  desire  left  or  courage  to  ap- 
pear on  the  stage.  I  wished  to  sell,  give  up,  or  give  away, 
if  necessary,  an  establishment  which  taxed  my  strength 
too  severely. 

"No,"  I  said  to  myself,  " I  am  not  born  for  this  life  of 
emotion.  I  will  quit  the  parching  atmosphere  of  a  thea- 
tre. I  will,  even  at  the  expense  of  a  brilliant  fortune,  re- 
turn to  my  gentle  and  calm  employment." 

The  next  morning,  incapable  of  rising,  and,  indeed, 
firmly  resolved  to  give  up  my  representations,  I  had  the 
bill  taken  down  that  announced  my  performance  for  that 
evening.  I  had  made  up  my  mind  as  to  all  the  conse- 
quences of  this  resolution.  Thus,  the  sacrifice  accom- 
plished, I  found  myself  far  more  calm,  and  even  yielded 
to  the  imperious  claims  of  a  sleep  I  had  for  a  long  time 
denied  myself. 

I  have  now  arrived  at  a  moment  when  I  shall  quit  for 
ever  the  mournful  and  wearisome  details  of  the  numerous 


250  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

misfortunes  that  preceded  my  representations ;  but  my 
readers  will  notice  with  some  surprise  to  what  a  futile  cir- 
cumstance I  owed  my  release  from  this  state  of  discour- 
agement, which  I  fancied  would  last  for  ever. 

The  repose  I  had  taken  during  the  day  and  the  follow- 
ing night  had  refreshed  my  blood  and  my  ideas.  I  re- 
garded my  situation  under  a  very  different  aspect,  and  I 
had  already  made  up  my  mind  not  to  give  up  my  theatre, 
when  one  of  my  friends  —  or,  who  called  himself  so  —  came 
to  pay  me  a  visit. 

After  expressing  his  regret  at  the  unhappy  result  of  my 
first  performance,  at  which  he  had  been  present,  he  said : 

"  I  called  in  to  see  you  because  I  noticed  your  room  was 
closed,  and  I  had  a  wish  to  express  my  feelings  to  you  on 
the  subject.  I  must  say,  then,  to  speak  frankly  "  (I  have 
noticed  that  this  phrase  is  always  followed  by  some  bad 
compliment,  which  is  meant  to  pass  under  the  guise  of 
friendly  frankness),  "  that  you  are  perfectly  right  to  quit 
a  profession  beyond  your  strength,  and  that  you  have 
acted  wisely  by  anticipating  with  good  grace  a  decision  to 
which  you  would  have  been  forced  sooner  or  later.  How- 
ever," he  added,  with  a  self-sufficient  air,  "I  foretold  it. 
I  always  thought  you  were  committing  an  act  of  madness, 
and  that  your  theatre  would  no  sooner  be  opened  than  you 
would  be  obliged  to  close  it." 

These  cruel  compliments,  addressed  under  the  cloak  of 
apocryphal  frankness,  wounded  me  deeply.  I  could  easily 
detect  that  this  offerer  of  advice,  sacrificing  to  his  vanity 
the  slight  affection  he  felt  for  me,  had  only  come  to 
see  me  in  order  to  parade  his  perspicacity  and  the  justice 
of  his  previsions,  of  which  he  had  never  mentioned  a  syl- 
lable to  me.  Well,  this  infallible  prophet,  who  foresaw 
events  so  truly,  was  far  from  suspecting  the  change  he 


A  GOOD-NATURED  FRIEND.  251 

was  producing  in  me.  The  more  he  talked,  the  more  he 
confirmed  me  in  the  resolution  of  continuing  my  perform- 
ances. 

"  Who  told  you  my  room  was  closed  ?"  I  said,  in  a  tone 
that  had  nothing  affectionate  about  it.  "  If  I  did  not  per- 
form yesterday,  it  was  because,  worn  out  by  the  fatigue  I 
have  undergone  for  some  time,  I  wished  to  rest  for  at 
least  one  day.  Your  foreboding  will,  therefore,  be  disap- 
pointed, when  I  tell  you  that  I  shall  perform  this  very 
evening.  I  hope,  in  my  second  representation,  to  take 
my  revenge  on  the  public ;  and  this  time  they  will  judge 
me  less  severely  than  you  have  done.  I  am  quite  con- 
vinced of  it." 

The  conversation  having  taken  this  turn,  could  not  be 
continued  much  longer.  My  offerer  of  advice,  dissatisfied 
at  my  reception  of  him,  quitted  me,  and  I  have  never  seen 
him  since.  Yet,  I  bear  him  no  malice ;  on  the  contrary, 
if  he  reads  my  Memoirs,  I  beg  to  offer  him  in  this  place 
my  thanks  for  the  happy  revolution  he  produced  in  me  by 
wounding  my  vanity  to  the  quick. 

Bills  were  immediately  posted  to  announce  my  perform- 
ance for  that  evening,  and  I  made  my  preparations  calm- 
ly, while  thinking  over  those  parts  of  my  performance  in 
which  it  would  be  advisable  to  introduce  a  change. 

This  second  representation  went  on  much  better  than  I 
had  hoped,  and  my  audience  appeared  satisfied.  Unfor- 
tunately, that  audience  was  small,  and  my  receipts, 
consequently,  were  the  same.  Still,  I  accepted  it  all 
philosophically,  for  the  success  I  had  obtained  gave  me 
confidence  in  the  future. 

However,  I  soon  had  real  causes  for  consolation.  The 
celebrities  of  the  press  came  to  my  representations,  and 
described  my  performance  in  the  most  flattering  terms. 


252  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

Some  contributors  to  the  comic  papers  also  made  very 
pleasant  allusions  to  my  performances  and  myself.  Among 
others,  the  present  editor  of  the  Charivari  wrote  an  article 
full  of  fun  and  dash  about  my  performances,  which  he  ter- 
minated with  some  lines,  expressive  of  his  decided  opinion 
that  I  belonged  to  the  family  of  Robert  le  Diable  and 
Robert  Macaire. 

Finally,  the  Illustration,  desirous  of  evincing  its  sympa- 
thy, engaged  Eugene  Forey  to  draw  a  sketch  of  my  thea- 
tre. Such  publicity  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
first  Parisian  circles:  people  came  to  see  my  perform- 
ances :  they  appointed  to  meet  at  my  room,  and  from  this 
moment  commenced  that  reputation  which  has  never  left 
me  since. 


NEW  STUDIES.  253 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

New  Studies — A  Comic  Journal — Invention  of  Second  Sight — Curious 
Experiments — An  enthusiastic  Spectator — Danger  of  being  a  Sor- 
cerer— A  Philter  or  your  Life — Way  to  get  rid  of  Bores — An  Electric 
Touch — I  perform  at  the  Vaudeville — Struggles  with  the  Incredu- 
lous— Interesting  Details. 

FONTENELLE  says,  some  where  or  other,  "  There  is  no 
success,  however  merited,  in  which  luck  does  not  have  a 
share;"  and,  although  I  was  of  the  same  opinion  as  the 
illustrious  Academician,  I  determined  by  sheer  toil  to  di- 
minish as  much  as  in  me  lay  the  share  luck  could  claim  in 
my  success.  In  the  first  place,  I  redoubled  my  efforts  to 
improve  the  execution  of  my  tricks,  and  when  I  believed  I 
had  attained  that  result,  I  tried  to  correct  a  fault  which, 
I  felt,  must  injure  my  performance.  This  was  speaking 
too  rapidly ;  and  my  "  patter,"  recited  in  a  schoolboy  tone, 
thus  lost  much  of  its  effect.  I  was  drawn  in  this  false 
direction  by  my  natural  vivacity,  and  I  had  great  trouble 
in  correcting  it ;  however,  by  resolutely  attacking  my  ene- 
my, I  managed  to  conquer  it. 

This  victory  was  doubly  profitable  to  me :  I  performed 
with  much  less  fatigue,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  noticing, 
in  the  calmness  of  my  audience,  that  I  had  realized  the 
scenic  truth,  "  the  more  slowly  a  story  is  told,  the  shorter 
it  seems."  In  fact,  if  you  pronounce  slowly,  the  public, 
judging  from  your  calmness  that  you  take  an  interest  in 
what  you  are  saying,  yield  to  your  influence  and  listen  to 


254  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

you  with  sustained  attention.  If,  on  the  contrary,  your 
words  reveal  a  desire  to  finish  quickly,  your  auditors  gradu- 
ally submit  to  the  influence  of  this  restlessness,  and  they 
are  as  anxious  as  yourself  to  hear  the  end  of  your  story. 

I  have  said  that  people  of  the  first  rank  came  to  my 
theatre,  but  I  noticed,  on  the  other  hand,  to  my  regret, 
that  my  pit  was  scantily  filled.  As  I  was  ambitious  to 
have  my  room  thronged,  I  thought  I  could  not  effect  this 
more  easily  than  by  making  my  theatre  better  known  than 
I  had  hitherto  done. 

From  time  immemorial  it  has  been  the  custom,  at  con- 
juring performances,  to  distribute  small  presents  to  the 
audience,  in  order  to  "maintain  their  friendship."  Toys 
were  generally  selected,  which  spectators  of  all  ages  con- 
tended for ;  and  this  often  made  Comte  say  at  the  moment 
of  distribution,  "  Here  are  toys  for  great  children  and 
small."  These  toys  had  a  very  ephemeral  existence,  and 
as  nothing  indicated  their  origin,  they  could  attract  no  at- 
tention to  the  giver.  While,  then,  I  was  as  liberal 
as  my  predecessors,  I  wished  that  my  little  presents 
should  keep  up  for  a  longer  period  the  remembrance  of  my 
name  and  experiments.  Instead  of  dolls  and  other  similar 
objects,  I  distributed  to  my  spectators,  under  the  form  of 
presents  produced  by  magic,  illustrated  comic  journals, 
elegant  fans,  albums,  and  rebuses,  all  accompanied  by 
bouquets  and  excellent  bonbons.  Each  article  bore,  not 
only  the  inscription  "  Recollections  of  Eobert-Houdin's 
fantastic  soirees,"  but  also  details  of  my  performances,  ac- 
cording to  the  nature  of  the  article.  These  were  generally 
presented  in  the  shape  of  verses.  The  thing  that  caused 
me  the  most  trouble  was  my  comic  journal,  the  "  Caglios- 
tro,"  which  I  was  forced  to  edit  at  the  expense  of  my 
night's  rest.  The  audience  were  amused  by  my  jests,  jand 


SECOND  SIGHT.  255 

the  perusal  of  the  paper  between  the  acts  gave  me  a  little 
time  to  make  my  preparations. 

The  experiment,  however,  to  which  I  owed  my  reputa- 
tion was  one  inspired  by  that  fantastic  god  to  whom  Pas- 
cal attributes  all  the  discoveries  of  this  sublunary  world : 
chance  led  me  straight  to  the  invention  of  second  sight. 

My  two  children  were  playing  one  day  in  the  drawing- 
room  at  a  game  they  had  invented  for  their  own  amuse- 
ment. The  younger  had  bandaged  his  elder  brother's 
eyes,  and  made  him  guess  the  objects  he  touched,  and 
when  the  latter  happened  to  guess  right,  they  changed 
places.  This  simple  game  suggested  to  me  the  most  com- 
plicated idea  that  ever  crossed  my  mind. 

Pursued  by  the  notion,  I  ran  and  shut  myself  up  in  my 
workroom,  and  was  fortunately  in  that  happy  state  when 
the  mind  follows  easily  the  combinations  traced  by  fancy. 
I  rested  my  head  in  my  hands,  and,  in  my  excitement, 
laid  down  the  first  principles  of  second  sight. 

It  would  require  a  whole  volume  to  describe  the  num- 
berless combinations  of  this  experiment ;  but  this  descrip- 
tion, far  too  serious  for  these  memoirs,  will  find  a  place  in 
a  special  work,  which  will  also  contain  the  explanation  of 
my  theatrical  tricks.  Still,  I  cannot  resist  the  desire  of 
cursorily  explaining  some  of  the  preliminary  experiments 
to  which  I  had  recourse  before  I  could  make  the  trick 
perfect. 

My  readers  will  remember  the  experiment  suggested  to 
me  formerly  by  the  pianist's  dexterity,  and  the  strange 
faculty  I  succeeded  in  attaining :  I  could  read  while  jug- 
gling with  four  balls.  Thinking  seriously  of  this,  I  fan- 
cied that  this  "perception  by  appreciation"  might  be  sus- 
ceptible of  equal  development,  if  I  applied  its  principles 
to  the  memory  and  the  mind. 


256  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

I  resolved,  therefore,  on  making  some  experiments  with 
my  son  Emile,  and,  in  order  to  make  my  young  assistant 
understand  the  nature  of  the  exercise  we  were  going  to 
learn,  I  took  a  domino,  the  cinq-quatre  for  instance,  and 
laid  it  before  him.  Instead  of  letting  him  count  the 
points  of  the  two  numbers,  I  requested  the  boy  to  tell  me 
the  total  at  once. 

"Nine,"  he  said. 

Then  I  added  another  domino,  the  quarter-tray. 

"That  makes  sixteen,"  he  said,  without  any  hesitation. 

I  stopped  the  first  lesson  here ;  the  next  day  we  suc- 
seeded  in  counting  at  a  single  glance  four  dominoes,  the 
day  after  six,  and  thus  we  at  length  were  enabled  to  give 
instantaneously  the  product  of  a  dozen  dominoes. 

This  result  obtained,  we  applied  ourselves  to  a  far  more 
difficult  task,  over  which  we  spent  a  month.  My  son  and 
I  passed  rapidly  before  a  toy-shop,  or  any  other  displaying 
a  variety  of  wares,  and  cast  an  attentive  glance  upon  it. 
A  few  steps  further  on"  we  drew  paper  and  pencil  from  our 
pockets,  and  tried  which  could  describe  the  greater  num- 
ber of  objects  seen  in  passing.  I  must  own  that  my  son 
reached  a  perfection  far  greater  than  mine,  for  he  could 
often  write  down  forty  objects,  while  I  could  scarce  reach 
thirty.  Often  feeling  vexed  at  this  defeat,  I  would  return 
to  the  shop  and  verify  his  statement,  but  he  rarely  made 
a  mistake. 

My  male  readers  will  certainly  understand  the  possi- 
bility of  this,  but  they  will  recognize  the  difficulty.  As 
for  my  lady  readers,  I  am  convinced  beforehand  they  will 
not  be  of  the  same  opinion,  for  they  daily  perform  far 
more  astounding  feats.  Thus,  for  instance,  I  can  safely 
assert  that  a  lady  seeing  another  pass  at  full  speed  in  a 
carriage,  will  have 'had  time  to  analyze  her  toilette  from 


DIFFICULTIES  TO  SURMOUNT.  257 

her  bonnet  to  her  shoes,  and  be  able  to  describe  not  only 
the  fashion  and  quality  of  the  stuffs,  but  also  say  if  the 
lace  be  real,  or  only  machine  made.  I  have  known  ladies 
do  this. 

This  natural,  or  acquired,  faculty  among  ladies,  but 
which  my  son  and  I  had  only  gained  by  constant  practice, 
was  of  great  service  in  my  performances,  for  while  I  was 
executing  my  tricks,  I  could  see  everything  that  passed 
around  me,  and  thus  prepare  to  foil  any  difficulties  pre- 
sented me.  This  exercise  had  given  me,  so  to  speak,  the 
power  of  following  two  ideas  simultaneously,  and  nothing 
is  more  favorable  in  conjuring  than  to  be  able  to  think  at 
the  same  time  both  of  what  you  are  saying  and  of  what 
you  are  doing.  I  eventually  acquired  such  a  knack  in 
this,  that  I  frequently  invented  new  tricks  while  going 
through  my  performances.  One  day,  even,  I  made  a  bet 
I  would  solve  a  problem  in  mechanics  while  taking  my 
part  in  conversation.  We  were  talking  of  the  pleasure  of 
a  country  life,  and  I  calculated  during  this  time  the  quan- 
tity of  wheels  and  pinions,  as  well  as  the  necessary  cogs, 
to  produce  certain  revolutions  required,  without  once  fail- 
ing in  my  reply. 

This  slight  explanation  will  be  sufficient  to  show  what 
is  the  essential  basis  of  second  sight,  and  I  will  add  that  a 
secret  and  unnoticeable  correspondence  existed  between 
my  son  and  myself,  by  which  I  could  announce  to  him  the 
name,  nature,  and  bulk  of  objects  handed  me  by  specta- 
tors. 

As  none  understood  my  mode  of  action,  they  were 
tempted  to  believe  in  something  extraordinary,  and,  in- 
deed, my  son  Emile,  then  aged  twelve,  possessed  all  the 
essential  qualities  to  produce  this  opinion,  for  his  pale, 


258  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

intellectual,  and  ever  thoughtful  face  represented  the  type 
of  a  boy  gifted  with  some  supernatural  power. 

Two  months  were  incessantly  employed  in  erecting  the 
scaffolding  of  our  tricks,  and  when  we  were  quite  confident 
of  being  able  to  contend  against  the  difficulties  of  such  an 
undertaking,  we  announced  the  first  representation  of 
second  sight.  On  the  12th  of  February,  1846,  I  printed 
in  the  centre  of  my  bill  the  following  singular  announce- 
ment: 

"In  this  performance  M.  Robert-Houdin' s  son,  who  is 
gifted  with  a  marvellous  second  sight,  after  his  eyes  have 
been  covered  with  a  thick  bandage,  will  designate  every  ob- 
ject presented  to  him  by  the  audience." 

I  cannot  say  whether  this  announcement  attracted  any 
spectators,  for  my  room  was  constantly  crowded ,  still  I 
may  affirm,  what  may  seem  very  extraordinary,  that  the 
experiment  of  second  sight,  which  afterwards  became  so 
fashionable,  produced  no  effect  on  the  first  performance. 
I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  spectators  fancied  them- 
selves the  dupes  of  accomplices,  but  I  was  much  annoyed 
by  the  result,  as  I  had  built  on  the  surprise  I  should  pro- 
duce ;  still,  having  no  reason  to  doubt  its  ultimate  success, 
I  was  tempted  to  make  a  second  trial,  which  turned  out 
well. 

The  next  evening  I  noticed  in  my  room  several  persons 
who  had  been  present  on  the  previous  night,  and  I  felt 
they  had  come  a  second  time  to  assure  themselves  of  the 
reality  of  the  experiment.  It  seems  they  were  convinced, 
for  my  success  was  complete,  and  amply  compensated  for 
my  former  disappointment. 

I  especially  remember  a  mark  of  singular  approval  with 
which  one  of  my  pit  audience  favored  me.  My  son  had 
named  to  him  several  objects  he  offered  in  succession ;  but 


A  FAIR  UNKNOWN.  259 

not  feeling  satisfied,  my  incredulous  friend,  rising,  as  if  to 
give  more  importance  to  the  difficulty  he  was  about  to 
present,  handed  me  an  instrument  peculiar  to  cloth  mer- 
chants, and  employed  to  count  the  number  of  threads. 
Acquiescing  in  his  wish,  I  said  to  my  boy,  "  What  do  I 
hold  in  my  hand?" 

"  It  is  an  instrument  to  judge  the  fineness  of  cloth,  and 
called  a  thread  counter." 

"By  Jove!"  my  spectator  said,  energetically,  "it  is 
marvellous.  If  I  had  paid  ten  francs  to  see  it,  I  should 
not  begrudge  them." 

From  this  moment  my  room  was  much  too  small,  and 
was  crowded  every  evening. 

Still,  success  is  not  entirely  rose-colored,  and  I  could 
easily  narrate  many  disagreeable  scenes  produced  by  the 
reputation  I  had  of  being  a  sorcerer ;  but  I  will  only  men- 
tion one,  which  forms  a  re'sume'  of  all  I  pass  over : 

A  young  lady  of  elegant  manners  paid  me  a  visit  one 
day,  and  although  her  face  was  hidden  by  a  thick  veil,  my 
practised  eyes  perfectly  distinguished  her  features.  She 
was  very  pretty. 

My  incognita  would  not  consent  to  sit  down  till  she  was 
assured  we  were  alone,  and  that  I  was  the  real  Robert- 
Houdin.  I  also  seated  myself,  and  assuming  the  attitude 
of  a  man  prepared  to  listen,  I  bent  slightly  to  my  visitor, 
as  if  awaiting  her  pleasure  to  explain  to  me  the  object  of 
her  mysterious  visit'.  To  my  great  surprise,  the  young 
lady,  whose  manner  betrayed  extreme  emotion,  maintained 
the  most  profound  silence,  and  I  began  to  find  the  visit 
very  strange,  and  was  on  the  point  of  forcing  an  explana- 
tion, at  any  hazard,  when  the  fair  unknown  timidly  ven- 
tured these  words : 

"  Good  Heavens  !  sir,  I  know  not  how  your  will  inter- 
pret my  visit." 


260  MEMOIRS  OP  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

Here  she  stopped,  and  let  her  eyes  sink  with  a  very 
embarrassed  air ;  then,  making  a  violent  effort,  she  con- 
tinued : 

"  What  I  have  to  ask  of  you,  sir,  is  very  difficult  to 
explain." 

"  Speak,  madam,  I  beg,"  I  said,  politely,  "  and  I  will 
try  to  guess  what  you  cannot  explain  to  me." 

And  I  began  asking  myself  what  this  reserve  meant. 

"  In  the  first  place,"  the  young  lady  said,  in  a  low 
voice,  and  looking  round  her,  "  I  must  tell  you  confiden- 
tially that  I  loved,  my  love  was  returned,  and  I  —  I  am 
betrayed." 

At  the  last  word  the  lady  raised  her  head,  overcame 
the  timidity  she  felt,  and  said,  in  a  firm  and  assured 
voice, 

"Yes,  sir — yes,  I  am  betrayed,  and  for  that  reason  I 
have  come  to  you." 

"  Really,  madam,"  I  said,  much  surprised  at  this  strange 
confession,  "  I  do  not  see  how  I  can  help  you  in  such  a 
matter." 

"  Oh,  sir,  I  entreat  you,"  said  my  fair  visitor,  clasping 
her  hands  —  "  I  implore  you  not  to  abandon  me  !" 

I  had  great  difficulty  in  keeping  my  countenance,  and 
yet  I  felt  an  extreme  curiosity  to  know  the  history  con- 
cealed behind  this  mystery. 

"  Calm  yourself,  madam,"  I  remarked,  in  a  tone  of 
tender  sympathy ;  "tell  me  what  you  would  of  me,  and  if 
it  be  in  my  power " 

"  If  it  be  in  your  power !"  the  young  lady  said,  quickly ; 
"why,  nothing  is  more  easy,  sir." 

"Explain  yourself,  madam." 

"Well,  sir,  I  wish  to  be  avenged." 

"In  what  way?" 


A  SORCERER  AGAINST  HIS  WILL.  261 

"  How,  you  know  better  than  I,  sir ;  must  I  teach  you  ? 
You  have  in  your  power  means  to " 

"I,  madam?" 

"  Yes,  sir,  you !  for  you  are  a  sorcerer,  and  cannot 
deny  it." 

At  this  word  sorcerer,  I  was  much  inclined  to  laugh ; 
but  I  was  restrained  by  the  incognita's  evident  emotion. 
Still,  wishing  to  put  an  end  to  a  scene  which  was  growing 
ridiculous,  I  said,  in  a  politely  ironical  tone  : 

"  Unfortunately,  madam,  you  give  me  a  title  I  never 
possessed." 

"  How,  sir  !"  the  young  woman  exclaimed,  in  a  quick 
tone,  "you  will  not  allow  you  are " 

"A  sorcerer,  madam?     Oh  no,  I  will  not." 

"You will  not?" 

"No,  a  thousand  times  no,  madam." 

At  these  words  my  visitor  rose  hastily,  muttered  a  few 
incoherent  words,  appeared  suffering  from  terrible  emotion, 
and  then  drawing  near  me  with  flaming  eyes  and  passionate 
gestures,  repeated : 

"  Ah,  you  will  not !  Very  good ;  I  now  know  what  I 
have  to  do." 

Stupefied  by  such  an  outbreak,  I  looked  at  her  fixedly, 
and  began  to  suspect  the  cause  of  her  extraordinary 
conduct. 

"  There  are  two  modes  of  acting,"  she  said,  with  terrible 
volubility,  "  towards  people  who  devote  themselves  to 
magic  arts  —  entreaty  and  menaces.  You  would  not  yield 
to  the  first  of  these  means,  hence,  I  must  employ  the 
second.  Stay,"  she  added,  "  perhaps  this  will  induce  you 
to  speak." 

And,  lifting  up  her  cloak,  she  laid  her  hand  on  the  hilt 
of  a  dagger  passed  through  her  girdle.  At  the  same  time 


262  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

she  suddenly  threw  back  her  veil,  and  displayed  features 
in  which  all  the  signs  of  rage  and  madness  could  be  traced. 
No  longer  having  a  doubt  as  to  the  person  I  had  to  deal 
with,  niy  first  movement  was  to  rise  and  stand  on  my 
guard;  but  this  first  feeling  overcome,  I  repented  the 
thought  of  a  struggle  with  the  unhappy  woman,  and  de- 
termined on  employing  a  method  almost  always  successful 
with  those  deprived  of  reason.  I  pretended  to  accede  to 
her  wishes. 

"  If  it  be  so,  madam,  I  yield  to  your  request.  Tell  me 
what  you  require." 

"  I  have  told  you,  sir ;  I  wish  for  vengeance,  and  there 
is  only  one  method  to " 

Here  there  was  a  fresh  interruption,  and  the  young 
lady,  calmed  by  my  apparent  submission,  as  well  as  em- 
barrassed by  the  request  she  had  to  make  of  me,  became 
again  timid  and  confused. 

"  Well,  madam?" 

"  Well,  sir,  I  know  not  how  to  tell  you  —  how  to  explain 
to  you  —  but  I  fancy  there  are  certain  means  —  certain 
spells  —  which  render  it  impossible  —  impossible  for  a  man 
to  be  —  unfaithful." 

"I  now  understand  what  you  wish,  madam.  It  is  a 
certain  magic  practice  employed  in  the  middle  ages. 
Nothing  is  easier,  and  I  will  satisfy  you." 

Decided  on  playing  the  farce  to  the  end,  I  took  down 
the  largest  book  I  could  find  in  my  library,  turned  over 
the  leaves,  stopped  at  a  page  which  I  pretended  to  scan 
with  profound  attention,  and  then  addressing  the  lady, 
who  followed  all  my  movements  anxiously, 

"  Madam,"  I  said,  confidentially,  "  the  spell  I  am  going 
to  perform  renders  it  necessary  for  me  to  know  the  name 
of  the  person ;  have  the  kindness,  then,  to  tell  it  me." 


THE  INCANTATION.  263 

"  Julian  !"  she  said,  in  a  faint  voice. 

With  all  the  gravity  of  a  real  sorcerer,  I  solemnly  thrust 
a  pin  through  a  lighted  candle,  and  pronounced  some  ca- 
balistic words.  After  which,  blowing  out  the  candle,  and 
turning  to  the  poor  creature,  I  said: 

"  Madam,  it  is  done  ;  your  wish  is  accomplished." 

"Oh,  thank  you,  sir,"  she  replied,  with  the  expression 
of  the  profoundest  gratitude ;  and  at  the  same  moment 
she  laid  a  purse  on  the  table  and  rushed  away.  I  ordered 
my  servant  to  follow  her  to  her  house,  and  obtain  all  the 
information  he  could  about  her,  and  I  learned  she  had 
been  a  widow  for  a  short  time,  and  that  the  loss  of  an 
adored  husband  had  disturbed  her  reason.  The  next  day 
I  visited  her  relatives,  and,  returning  them  the  purse,  I 
told  them  the  scene  the  details  of  which  the  reader  has 
just  perused. 

This  scene,  with  some  others  that  preceded  and  followed 
it,  compelled  me  to  take  measures  to  guard  myself  against 
bores  of  every  description.  I  could  not  dream,  as  for- 
merly, of  exiling  myself  in  the  country,  but  I  employed 
a  similar  resource :  this  was  to  shut  myself  up  in  my 
workroom,  and  organize  around  me  a  system  of  defence 
against  those  whom  I  called,  in  my  ill-temper,  thieves  of 
time. 

I  daily  received  visits  from  persons  who  were  utter 
strangers  to  me ;  some  were  worth  knowing,  but  the  ma- 
jority, gaining  an  introduction  under  the  most  futile  pre- 
texts, only  came  to  kill  a  portion  of  their  leisure  time  with 
me.  It  was  necessary  to  distinguish  the  tares  from  the 
wheat,  and  this  is  the  arrangement  I  made : 

When  one  of  these  gentlemen  rang  at  my  door,  an 
electric  communication  struck  a  bell  in  my  workroom ;  I 
was  thus  warned  and  put  on  my  guard.  My  servant 


264  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

opened  the  door,  and,  as  is  customary,  inquired  the  visitor's 
name,  while  I,  for  my  part,  laid  my  ear  to  a  tube,  arrang- 
ed for  the  purpose,  which  conveyed  to  me  every  word.  If, 
according  to  his  reply,  I  thought  it  as  well  not  to  receive 
him,  I  pressed  a  button,  and  a  white  mark  that  appeared 
in  a  certain  part  of  the  hall  announced  I  was  not  at 
home  to  him.  My  servant  then  stated  I  was  out,  and  beg- 
ged the  visitor  to  apply  to  the  manager. 

Sometimes  it  happened  that  I  erred  in  my  judgment, 
and  regretted  having  granted  an  audience ;  but  I  had  an- 
other mode  of  shortening  a  bore's  visit.  I  had  placed  be- 
hind the  sofa  on  which  I  set  an  electric  spring,  communi- 
cating with  a  bell  my  servant  could  hear.  In  case  of  need, 
and  while  talking,  I  threw  my  arm  carelessly  over  the 
back  of  the  sofa,  touching  the  spring,  and  the  bell  rang. 
Then  my  servant,  playing  a  little  farce,  opened  the  front 
door,  rang  the  bell,  which  could  be  heard  from  the  room 

where  I  sat,  and  came  to  tell  me  that  M.  X (a  name 

invented  for  the  occassion)  wished  to  speak  to  me.  I 

ordered  M.  X to  be  shown  into  an  adjoining  room, 

and  it  was  very  rare  that  my  bore  did  not  raise  the  siege. 
No  one  can  form  an  idea  how  much  time  I  gained  by  this 
happy  arrangement,  or  how  many  times  I  blessed  my  im- 
agination and  the  celebrated  savant  to  whom  the  discovery 
of  galvanism  is  due  ! 

This  feeling  can  be  easily  explained,  for  my  time  was 
of  inestimable  value.  I  husbanded  it  like  a  treasure,  and 
never  sacrificed  it,  unless  the  sacrifice  might  help  me  to 
discover  new  experiments  destined  to  stimulate  public  cu- 
riosity. 

To  support  my  determination  in  making  my  researches, 
I  had  ever  before  me  this  maxim : 

IT  IS  MORE  DIFFICULT  TO  SUPPORT  ADMIRATION  THAN 
TO  EXCITE  IT. 


A  RACE  FOR  TIME.  265 

And  this  other,  an  apparent  corollary  of  the  preced- 
ing: 

THE  FASHION  AN  ARTISTE  ENJOYS  CAN  ONLY  LAST  AS 
HIS  TALENT  DAILY  INCREASES. 

Nothing  increases  a  professional  man's  merit  so  much  as 
the  possession  of  an  independent  fortune ;  this  truth  may 
be  coarse,  hut  it  is  indubitable.  Not  only  was  I  convinc- 
ed of  these  principles  of  high  economy,  but  I  also  knew 
that  a  man  must  strive  to  profit  by  the  fickle  favor  of  the 
public,  which  equally  descends  if  it  does  not  rise.  Hence 
J  worked  my  reputation  as  much  as  I  could.  In  spite  of 
my  numerous  engagements,  I  found  means  to  give  perform- 
ances in  all  the  principal  theatres,  though  great  difficulties 
frequently  arose,  as  my  performance  did  not  end  till  half- 
past  ten,  and  I  could  only  fulfil  my  other  engagements 
after  that  hour. 

Eleven  o'clock  was  generally  the  hour  fixed  for  my  ap- 
pearance on  a  strange  stage,  and  my  readers  may  judge 
of  the  speed  required  to  proceed  to  the  theatre  in  so  short 
a  time  and  make  my  preparations.  It  is  true  that  the 
moments  were  as  well  counted  as  employed,  and  my  curtain 
had  hardly  fallen  than,  rushing  towards  the  stairs,  I  got 
before  my  audience,  and  jumped  into  a  vehicle  that  bore 
me  off  at  full  speed. 

But  this  fatigue  was  as  nothing  compared  to  the  emo- 
tion occasionally  produced  by  an  error  in  the  time  that 
was  to  elaspe  between  my  two  performances.  I  remember 
that,  one  night,  having  to  wind  up  the  performances  at  the 
Vaudeville,  the  stage-manager  miscalculated  the  time  the 
pieces  would  take  in  performing,  and  found  himself  much 
in  advance.  He  sent  off  an  express  to  warn  me  that  the 
curtain  had  fallen,  and  I  was  anxiously  expected.  Can 
my  readers  comprehend  my  wretchedness  ?  My  experi- 


266  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

ments,  of  which.  I  could  omit  none,  would  occupy  another 
quarter  of  an  hour ;  but  instead  of  indulging  in  useless 
recriminations,  I  resigned  myself  and  continued  my  per- 
formance, though  I  was  a  prey  to  frightful  anxiety. 
While  speaking,  I  fancied  I  could  hear  that  cadenced  yell 
of  the  public  to  which  the  famous  song,  "Des  lampions, 
des  lampions,"  was  set.  Thus,  either  through  preoccupa- 
tion, or  a  desire  to  end  sooner,  I  found  when  my  perform- 
ance was  over  I  had  gained  five  minutes  out  of  the  quarter 
of  an  hour.  Assuredly,  it  might  be  called  the  quarter  of 
an  hour's  grace. 

To  jump  into  a  carriage  and  drive  to  the  Place  de  la 
Bourse  was  the  affair  of  an  instant ;  still,  twenty  minutes 
had  elasped  since  the  curtain  fell,  and  that  was  an  enormous 
time.  My  son  Emile  and  I  proceeded  up  the  actors'  stairs 
at  full  speed,  but  on  the  first  step,  we  had  heard  the  cries, 
whistling,  and  stamping  of  the  impatient  audience.  What 
a  prospect !  I  knew  that  frequently,  either  right  or  wrong, 
the  public  treated  an  artiste,  no  matter  whom,  very  harshly, 
to  remind  him  of  punctuality.  That  sovereign  always  ap- 
pears to  have  on  its  lips  the  words  of  another  monarch : 
"I  was  obliged  to  wait."  However,  we  hurried  up  the 
steps  leading  to  the  stage. 

The  stage-manager,  who  had  been  watching,  on.  hearing 
our  hurried  steps,  cried  from  the  landing : 

"Is  that  you,  M.  Houdin?" 

"Yes,  sir  — yes." 

"Raise  the  curtain!"  the  same  voice  shouted. 

"  Wait,  wait,  it  is  imp " 

My  breath  would  not  allow  me  to  finish  my  objection  ; 
I  fell  on  a  chair,  unable  to  move. 

"  Come,  M.  Houdin,"  the  manager  said,  "  do  go  on  the 
stage,  the  curtain  is  up,  and  the  public  are  so  impatient." 


AN  INDIGNANT  AUDIENCE.  267 

The  door  at  the  back  of  the  stage  was  open,  but  I  could 
not  pass  through  it,  fatigue  and  emotion  nailed  me  to  the 
spot.  Still,  an  idea  occurred  to  me,  which  saved  me  from 
the  popular  wrath. 

"  Go  on  to  the  stage,  my  boy,"  I  said  to  my  son,  "  and 
prepare  all  that  is  wanting  for  the  second-sight  trick." 

The  public  allowed  themselves  to  be  disarmed  by  this 
youth,  whose  face  inspired  a  sympathizing  interest ;  and 
my  son,  after  gravely  bovring  to  the  audience,  quietly 
made  his  slight  preparations,  that  is  to  say,  he  carried  an 
ottoman  to  the  front  of  the  stage,  and  placed  on  a  neigh- 
boring table  a  slate,  some  chalk,  a  pack  of  cards,  and  a 
bandage. 

This  slight  delay  enabled  me  to  recover  my  breath  and 
calm  my  nerves,  and  I  advanced  in  my  turn  with  an  at- 
tempt to  assume  the  stereotyped  smile,  in  which  I  signally 
failed,  as  I  was  so  agitated.  The  audience  at  first  remain- 
ed silent,  then  their  faces  gradually  unwrinkled,  and  soon, 
one  or  two  claps  having  been  ventured,  they  were  carried 
away  and  peace  was  made.  I  was  well  rewarded,  however, 
for  this  terrible  ordeal,  as  my  "second-sight"  never  gam- 
ed a  more  brilliant  triumph. 

An  incident  greatly  enlivened  the  termination  of  my 
performance. 

A  spectator,  who  had  evidently  come  on  purpose  to  em- 
barrass us,  had  tried  in  vain  for  some  minutes  to  baffle  my 
son's  clairvoyance,  when  turning  to  me,  he  said,  laying 
marked  stress  on  his  words  : 

"As  your  son  is  a  soothsayer,  of  course  he  can  guess 
the  number  of  my  stall  ?" 

The  importunate  spectator  doubtlessly  hoped  to  force  us 
into  a  confession  of  our  impotence,  for  he  covered  his 
number  and  the  adjacent  seats  being  occupied,  it  was  up- 


268  MEMOIRS  OF  EOBERT-HOUDIN. 

parently  impossible  to  read  the  numbers.  But  I  was  on 
my  guard  against  all  surprises,  and  my  reply  was  ready. 
Still,  in  order  to  profit  as  much  as  possible  by  the  situation,  I 
feigned  to  draw  back. 

"You  know,  sir,"  I  said,  feigning  an  embarrassed  air, 
"  that  my  son  is  neither  sorcerer  nor  diviner ;  he  reads 
through  my  eyes,  and  hence  I  have  given  this  experiment 
the  name  of  second-sight.  As  I  cannot  see  the  number 
of  your  stall,  and  the  seats  close  to  you  are  occupied,  my 
son  cannot  tell  it  you." 

"Ah!  I  was  certain  of  it,"  my  persecutor  said,  in 
triumph,  and  turning  to  his  neighbors :  "I  told  you  I 
would  pin  him." 

"  Oh,  sir !  you  are  not  generous  in  your  victory,"  I 
said,  in  my  turn,  in  a  tone  of  mockery.  "  Take  care ;  if 
you  pique  my  son's  vanity  too  sharply,  he  may  solve  your 
problem,  though  it  is  so  difficult." 

"  I  defy  him,"  said  the  spectator,  leaning  firmly  against 
the  back  of  his  seat,  to  hide  the  number  better — "yes, 
yes  —  I  defy  him !" 

"You  believe  it  to  be  difficult,  then?" 

"  I  will  grant  more :  it  is  impossible." 

"  Well,  then,  sir,  that  is  a  stronger  reason  for  us  to  try 
it.  You  will  not  be  angry  if  we  triumph  in  our  turn  ?"  I 
added,  with  a  petulant  smile. 

"  Come,  sir ;  we  understand  evasions  of  that  sort.  I 
repeat  it  —  I  challenge  you  both." 

The  public  found  great  amusement  in  this  debate,  and 
patiently  awaited  its  issue. 

"Emile,"  I  said  to  my  son,  "prove  to  this  gentleman 
that  nothing  can  escape  your  second  sight." 

"It  is  number  sixty -nine,"  the  boy  answered,  imme- 
diately. 


A  GREAT  TRIUMPH.  269 

Noisy  and  hearty  applause  rose  from  every  part  of  the 
theatre,  in  which  our  opponent  joined,  for,  confessing  his 
defeat,  he  exclaimed,  as  he  clapped  his  hands,  "  It  is 
astounding  —  magnificent !" 

The  way  I  succeeded  in  finding  out  the  number  of  the 
stall  was  this :  I  knew  beforehand  that  in  all  theatres 
where  the  stalls  are  divided  down  the  centre  by  a  passage, 
the  uneven  numbers  are  on  the  right,  and  the  even  on  the 
left.  As  at  the  Vaudeville  each  row  was  composed  of  ten 
stalls,  it  followed  that  on  the  right  hand  the  several  rows 
must  begin  with  one,  twenty-one,  forty-one,  and  so  on, 
increasing  by  twenty  each.  Guided  by  this,  I  had  no 
difficulty  in  discovering  that  my  opponent  was  seated  in 
number  sixty-nine,  representing  the  fifth  stall  in  the  fourth 
row.  I  had  prolonged  the  conversation  for  the  double 
purpose  of  giving  more  brilliancy  to  my  experiment,  and 
gaining  time  to  make  my  researches.  Thus  I  applied  my 
process  of  two  simultaneous  thoughts,  to  which  I  have 
already  alluded. 

As  I  am  now  explaining  matters,  I  may  as  well  tell  my 
readers  some  of  the  artifices  that  added  material  brilliancy 
to  the  second  sight.  I  have  already  said  this  experiment 
was  the  result  of  a  material  communication  between  my- 
self and  my  son,  which  no  one  could  detect.  Its  combina- 
tions enabled  us  to  describe  any  conceivable  object ;  but, 
though  this  was  a  splendid  result,  I  saw  that  I  should  soon 
encounter  unheard-of  difficulties  in  executing  it. 

The  experiment  of  second  sight  always  formed  the  ter- 
mination of  my  performance.  Each  evening  I  saw  unbe- 
lievers arrive  with  all  sorts  of  articles  to  triumph  over  a 
secret  which  they  could  not  unravel.  Before  going  to  see 
Robert-Houdin's  son  a  council  was  held,  in  which  an  object 
that  must  embarrass  the  father  was  chosen.  Among  these 


270  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

were  half-effaced  antique  medals,  minerals,  books  printed 
in  characters  of  every  description  (living  and  dead  lan- 
guages), coats-of-arms,  microscopic  objects,  &c. 

But  what  caused  me  the  greatest  difficulty  was  in  finding 
out  the  contents  of  parcels,  often  tied  with  a  string,  or  even 
sealed  up.  But  I  had  managed  to  contend  successfully 
against  all  these  attempts  to  embarrass  me.  I  opened 
boxes,  purses,  pocket-books,  &c.,  with  great  ease,  and  un- 
noticed, while  appearing  to  be  engaged  on  something  quite 
different.  Were  a  sealed  parcel  offered  me,  I  cut  a  small 
slit  in  the  paper  with  the  nail  of  my  left  thumb,  which  I 
always  purposely  kept  very  long  and  sharp,  and  thus  dis- 
covered what  it  contained.  One  essential  condition  was 
excellent  sight,  and  that  I  possessed  to  perfection.  I 
owed  it  originally  to  my  old  trade,  and  practice  daily  im- 
proved it.  An  equally  indispensable  necessity  was  to 
know  the  name  of  every  object  offered  me.  It  was  not 
enough  to  say,  for  instance,  "  It  is  a  coin ;"  but  my  son 
must  give  its  technical  name,  its  value,  the  country  in 
which  it  was  current,  and  the  year  in  which  it  was  struck. 
Thus,  for  instance,  if  an  English  crown  were  handed  me, 
my  son  was  expected  to  state  that  it  was  struck  in  the 
reign  of  George  IV.,  and  had  an  intrinsic  value  of  six 
francs  eighteen  centimes. 

Aided  by  an  excellent  memory,  we  had  managed  to 
classify  in  our  heads  the  name  and  value  of  all  foreign 
money.  We  could  also  describe  a  coat-of-arms  in  heraldic 

terms.  Thus,  on  the  arms  of  the  house  of  X— being 

handed  me,  my  son  would  reply :  "  Field  gules,  with  two 
croziers  argent  in  pale."  This  knowledge  was  very  useful 
to  us  in  the  salons  of  the  Faubourg  Saint  Germain,  where 
•we  were  frequently  summoned. 

I  had  also  learned  the  characters — though  unable  to 


A  VALUABLE  FRIEND.  271 

translate  a  word  —  of  an  infinity  of  languages,  such  as 
Chinese,  Russian,  Turkish,  Greek,  Hebrew,  &c.  We 
knew,  too,  the  names  of  all  surgical  instruments,  so  that  a 
surgical  pocket-book,  however  complicated  it  might  be, 
could  not  embarrass  us.  Lastly,  I  had  a  very  sufficient 
knowledge  of  mineralogy,  precious  stones,  antiquities,  and 
curiosities  ;  but  I  had  at  my  command  every  possible  re- 
source for  acquiring  these  studies,  as  one  of  my  dearest 
and  best  friends,  Aristide  le  Carpentier,  a  learned  anti- 
quary, and  uncle  of  the  talented  composer  of  the  same 
name,  had,  and  still  has,  a  cabinet  of  antique  curiosities, 
which  makes  the  keepers  of  the  imperial  museums  fierce 
with  envy.  My  son  and  I  spent  many  long  days  in  learn- 
ing here  names  and  dates,  of  which  we  afterwards  made  a 
learned  display.  Le  Carpentier  taught  me  many  things, 
and,  among  others,  he  described  various  signs  by  which 
to  recognise  old  coins  when  the  die  is  worn  off.  Thus,  a 
Trajan,  a  Tiberius,  or  a  Marcus  Aurelius  became  as  fami- 
liar to  me  as  a  five-franc  piece. 

Owing  to  my  old  trade,  I  could  open  a  watch  with  ease, 
and  do  it  with  one  hand,  so  as  to  be  able  to  read  the 
maker's  name  without  the  public  suspecting  it:  then  I 
shut  up  the  watch  again  and  the  trick  was  ready ;  my  son 
managed  the  rest  of  the  business. 

But  that  power  of  memory  which  my  son  possessed  in 
an  eminent  degree  certainly  did  us  the  greatest  service. 
When  we  went  to  private  houses,  he  needed  only  a  very 
rapid  inspection,  in  order  to  know  all  the  objects  in  a 
room,  as  well  as  the  various  ornaments  worn  by  the  spec- 
tators, such  as  ch&telaines,  pins,  eye-glasses,  fans,  brooches, 
rings,  bouquets,  &c.  He  thus  could  describe  these  objects 
with  the  greatest  ease,  when  I  pointed  them  out  to  him  by 
our  secret  communication.  Here  is  an  instance : 


272  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT  HOUDIN. 

One  evening,  at  a  house  in  the  Chausse'e  d'Antin,  and  at 
the  end  of  a  performance  which  had  been  as  successful  as 
it  was  loudly  applauded,  I  remembered  that,  while  passing 
through  the  next  room  to  the  one  we  were  now  in,  I  had 
begged  my  son  to  cast  a  glance  at  a  library  and  remember 
the  titles  of  some  of  the  books,  as  well  as  the  order  they 
were  arranged  in.  No  one  had  noticed  this  rapid  exami- 
nation. 

"To  end  the  second  sight  experiment,  sir,"  I  said  to 
the  master  of  the  house,  "  I  will  prove  to  you  that  my  son 
can  read  through  a  wall.  Will  you  lend  me  a  book  ?" 

I  was  naturally  conducted  to  the  library  in  question, 
which  I  pretended  now  to  see  for  the  first  time,  and  I  laid 
my  finger  on  a  book. 

"Emile,"  I  said  to  my  son,  "  What  is  the  name  of  this 
work?" 

"It  is  Buffon,"  he  replied,  quickly. 

"And  the  one  by  its  side?"  an  incredulous  spectator 
hastened  to  ask. 

"  On  the  right  or  left?"  my  son  asked. 

"  On  the  right,"  the  speaker  said,  having  a  good  reason 
for  choosing  this  book,  for  the  lettering  was  very  small. 

"  The  Travels  of  Anacharsis  the  Younger,"  the  boy 
replied.  "But,"  he  added,  "had  you  asked  the  name  of 
the  book  on  the  left,  sir,  I  should  have  said  Lamartine's 
Poetry.  A  little  to  the  right  of  this  row  ,  I  see  Cre'bil- 
lon's  works;  below,  two  volumes  of  Fleury's  Memoirs;" 
and  my  son  thus  named  a  dozen  books  before  he  stopped. 

The  spectators  had  not  said  a  word  during  this  descrip- 
tion, as  they  felt  so  amazed ;  but  when  the  experiment 
had  ended,  all  complimented  us  by  clapping  their  hands. 


A  THEATRICAL  AGENT.  273 


CHAPTER    XV. 

Seductions  of  a  Theatrical  Agent  —  How  to  gain  One  Hundred  Thou- 
sand Francs — I  start  for  Brussels — A  lucky  Two-Sou  Piece — Mise- 
ries of  professional  Travelling — The  Park  Theatre  —  Tyranny  of  a 
Porter — Full  House — Small  Receipts — Deceptions — Return  to  Paris. 

HAD  it  not  been  for  my  constant  toil  and  the  inconveni- 
ences attached  to  it,  I  should  have  been  quite  happy  and 
satisfied  with  the  daily  profit  my  performances  brought  me 
in.  But  one  fine  day  the  demon  of  seduction  presented 
himself  before  me  in  the  obsequious  form  of  a  theatrical 
agent. 

"Monsieur  Robert-Houdin,"  he  said,  with  a  smile  on 
his  lips,  as  if  we  were  old  friends,  "  I  am  commissioned  by 

M.  X ,  manager  of  the  royal  theatres  of  Brussels,  to 

offer  you  an  engagement  for  the  summer  season." 

My  first  answer  was  a  refusal,  which  I  based  on  excel- 
lent reasons.  As  I  was  very  successful,  it  would  not  be 
prudent  to  break  the  vein,  while  I  saw  no  occasion  to  go  a 
long  distance  in  search  of  advantages  I  could  secure  at 
home.  This  reasoning  would  have  settled  any  one  but  a 
theatrical  agent ;  but  nothing,  it  is  well  known,  can  shake 
off  the  grip  of  these  skillful  crimps. 

"  Permit  me,  Monsieur  Robert-Houdin,  not  to  be  quite 
of  your  opinion.  I  allow,  of  course,  that  with  your  talents 
you  are  always  secure  of  good  receipts,  but  you  should 
bear  in  mind  that  the  dog-days  are  approaching,  and  your 

S 


274  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

room  is  stifling  in  summer.  This  consideration  might  in- 
duce the  Parisian  public  to  defer  till  autumn  the  pleasure 
of  witnessing  your  performances,  while,  by  going  to  Brus- 
sels, where  the  theatres  are  large  and  airy,  you  would 
have  no  reason  to  fear  such  a  result.  Come,"  the  pleni- 
potentiary continued,  in  a  most  candid  tone,  "  I  must  tell 
you,  without  wishing  to  natter  you  the  least  in  the  world, 
that  everybody  is  talking  about  you  in  Belgium ;  I  may 
add,  even,  that  the  manager  has  been  urged  to  make  you 
offers  by  a  great  number  of  his  subscribers." 

This  flattering  insinuation  began  to  shake  my  decision, 
and  I  offered  in  my  defence  reasons  whose  weakness  only 
attested  to  my  indecision.  My  clever  touter  noticed  this, 
and  thinking  the  moment  arrived  to  strike  his  great  blow, 
said: 

"  Do  you  know,  sir,  the  probable  proceeds  of  my  offer  ?" 

"No,  sir." 

"  Well,  make  an  estimate." 

"  It  is  impossible." 

"Then,  approximate." 

"  I  must  decline ;  for  I  understand  nothing  of  such  cal- 
culations." 

"  Well,  then,  I  understand  them,  and  am  rarely  mista- 
ken," said  the  agent,  stroking  his  chin,  "  and  I  tell  you  it 
is  an  affair  to  you"  (here  my  seducer  stopped,  as  if  to 
make  a  most  accurate  calculation) — "an  affair  of  one 
hundred  thousand  france." 

"  One  hundred  thousand  francs  !"  I  exclaimed,  dazzled 
at  such  a  prospect,  "you  cannot  mean  it." 

"  It  is  precisely  because  I  mean  it  that  I  tell  you,  and 
repeat  it  again :  you  will  clear  one  hundred  thousand 
francs  by  your  trip.  Add  to  this,  the  advantage  of  having 
seen  a  splendid  country,  and  being  received  with  all  the 


A  SEDUCTIVE  OFFER.  275 

.attention  due  to  an  artist  of  your  merit.  You  will  then 
return  to  your  impatient  spectators,  whose  curiosity, 
heightened  by  their  long  privation,  will  produce  you  re- 
ceipts far  more  brilliant  than  any  you  might  have  ex- 
pected by  remaining  in  Paris." 

Being  little  conversant  at  that  period  with  theatrical 
matters,  and  having  no  reason  to  doubt  the  honesty  of  my 
eloquent  "  humbugger,"  I  easily  believed  his  fine  promises. 
The  chink  of  one  hundred  thousand  francs  still  ringing  in 
my  ears  fascinated  me  ;  and  I  gave  way  unconsciously  to 
the  same  mode  of  reasoning  the  inkstand  inventor  had  em- 
ployed. 

"And,  really,"  I  said  to  myself,  "supposing,  for  in- 
stance, that "  And,  leaping  from  supposition  to  sup- 
position, my  calculations  exceeded  those  of  the  agent. 
But,  in  order  to  be  reasonable,  I  concluded,  like  my  friend 
the  inventor,  in  this  way :  "  Well,  to  prevent  any  misun- 
derstanding, suppose  we  say  only  fifty  thousand  francs  — 
surely  nobody  can  accuse  me  with  exaggeration." 

Though  dazzled  by  this  brilliant  calculation,  I  strove  to 
conceal  my  desire  of  accepting  the  offer. 

"  It  is  all  very  well,"  I  said,  in  my  turn,  after  the  style 
of  a  perfect  man  of  business,  "but  what  are  the  con- 
ditions?" 

"  Oh,  most  simple !"  the  crafty  fellow  said;  "the  same 
as  are  made  with  all  distinguished  artists.  Monsieur 

X will  pay  all  the  expenses,  but  to  cover  those,  he 

will  deduct  three  hundred  francs  from  the  gross  receipts, 
exclusive  of  the  claim  of  the  poor,  and  the  rest  will  be 
fairly  divided  between  him  and  yourself." 

"  Still,  I  should  like  to  know  how  much  the  sum  to  be 
divided  will  amount  to?" 

"How  is  it  possible  to  say  ?"  the  agent  exclaimed,  with 


276  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

an  aspect  of  the  greatest  sincerity.     "  With  such  success 
as  awaits  you,  it  will  be  enormous." 

In  spite  of  my  pressing,  the  agent  always  entrenched 
himself  in  his  exclamations,  and  the  impossibility  of  mak- 
ing such  an  estimate.  Tired  of  the  struggle,  I  at  length 
formed  my  decision. 

"  I  will  go  to  Brussels,"  I  said,  in  a  resolute  tone. 

The  theatrical  agent  immediately  drew  from  his  pocket 
a  printed  form,  which  he  had  brought  in  case  of  our  com- 
ing to  terms,  and  we  had  only  to  add  the  stipulations  to  it. 

"Tell  me,  sir,"  the  manager's  representative  said,  in  a 
conscientious  tone,  "  will  you  have  any  objection  to  a  for- 
feit of  six  thousand  francs  ?  As  the  engagement  is  recip- 
rocal, you  must  find  this  but  fair." 

I  only  saw  in  the  agent's  request  a  very  natural  desire 
to  defend  his  employer's  interests ;  and  I  drew  this  con- 
clusion from  it :  if  the  agreement  was  advantageous  for 
the  manager,  it  must  be  equally  so  for  me,  as  we  were  to 
share  the  receipts.  I  consented  to  the  clause,  and  affixed 
my  signature.  The  agent  could  not  repress  his  satisfac- 
tion, but  he  cleverly  ascribed  it  to  the  interest  he  felt  in  me. 

"  I  congratulate  you  sincerely  on  the  engagement  you 
have  just  made,"  he  said,  as  he  offered  me  his  hand; 
"  you  will  soon  be  able  to  tell  me  of  the  results  you  will 
draw  from  it.  By  the  way,"  he  added,  in  a  friendly  tone, 
after  a  pause,  "  will  you  now  permit  me  to  give  you  a 
piece  of  advice?" 

"Certainly,  sir  —  certainly.' 

"  I  would  recommend  you,  then,  to  take  a  collection  of 
showy  bills  and  posters  with  you  to  Belgium.  They  do 
not  know  how  to  get  them  up  in  Brussels,  and  they  will 
produce  a  prodigious  effect.  It  would  be  also  as  well  to 
have  a  handsome  lithograph,  representing  your  stage ;  it 


THE  AGENT  TRIUMPHS.  277 

can  be  put  up  in  the  various  picture-shops,  and  you  will 
obtain  increased  publicity." 

These  counsels,  and  the  familiar,  almost  protecting,  tone 
in  which  they  were  given,  appeared  to  me  strange ;  and  I 
could  not  refrain  from  expressing  my  surprise  to  the  man 
of  business. 

"  What  need  of  all  these  precautions  ?  I  fancied  I  un- 
derstood you  that " 

"  Good  gracious  me !  all  professionals  are  alike,"  the 
giver  of  advice  interrupted  me ;  "  absorbed  in  their  art, 
they  understand  nothing  of  business.  But  tell  me,  Mon- 
sieur Robert-Houdin,  would  you  feel  annoyed  at  netting 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  francs,  instead  of  the  one 
hundred  thousand  I  promised  you?" 

"On  my  word,  no,"  I  said,  with  a  smile;  "and  I  con- 
fess that,  far  from  feeling  vexed,  I  should  be  very  pleased 
at  it." 

"  Well,  then,  the  more  you  make  yourself  known,  the 
more  you  will  add  to  the  amount  I  stated." 

"  But  I  thought  that  notoriety  was  generally  the  busi- 
ness of  managers." 

"  Certainly,  ordinary  publicity,  but  not  extraordinary. 
You  must  see  that  is  unlikely,  as  it  will  be  all  for  your 
advantage." 

Though  little  conversant  with  business,  as  the  agent  had 
just  remarked,  I  saw  that  his  arguments  were  not  always 
in  accordance  with  logic.  However,  I  consented  to  the 
posters  and  the  lithograph,  in  consideration  of  the  pro- 
mised results.' 

"  That  is  right,"  the  agent  said,  his  familiarity  sensibly 
increasing  since  the  signature  of  the  contract  —  that  ia 
right:  that  is  what  I  call  managing  things  properly." 

And  my  man  left  me,  after  complimenting  me  once 
more  on  the  arrangement  I  had  made. 


278  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

When  left  to  myself,  I  indulged  at  my  ease  in  day- 
dreams about  the  magnificent  result  promised  me,  and  this 
anticipated  joy  was  probably  all  I  tasted  from  the  moment 
of  signing  this  engagement  to  its  termination.  The  first 
unpleasantness  it  occasioned  me  was  a  slight  discussion 
with  my  cashier,  that  is  to  say,  my  wife,  who,  in  consider- 
ation of  her  employment,  had  a  deliberative  voice  in  all 
theatrical  matters.  I  could  not  certainly  have  found  an 
employee  of  greater  probity,  or  a  more  devoted  clerk,  but 
I  am  bound  to  say  that  this  clerk,  probably  through  her 
intimate  connexion  with  her  employer,  sometimes  ventured 
to  contradict  him.  Thus  I  feared  when  I  described  to 
that  functionary  the  brilliant  perspective  of  my  agree- 
ment. 

Although  I  finished  my  statement  with  this  harmonious 
phrase,  on  every  word  of  which  I  laid  a  heavy  stress,  in 
order  to  give  it  more  value,  "  and  we  shall  return  to  France 
with  one  —  hundred  —  thousand  —  francs  clear  profit,"  my 
wife,  or  rather  my  cashier,  coolly  said  to  me : 

"  Well,  in  your  place,  I  should  not  have  made  such  a 
bargain." 

"But  why  not?"  I  said,  piqued  by  this  unexpected  op- 
position. 

"  Why  ?  because  nothing  guarantees  you  the  promised 
profits,  while  you  are  perfectly  certain  as  to  your  ex- 
penses." 

Wishing  to  cut  short  a  discussion  from  which  I  did  not 
see  my  way  out  with  honor : 

"  Women  are  all  alike,"  I  said,  employing  the  phrase  of 
the  theatrical  agent;  "understanding  nothing  of  business, 
they  oppose  one  out  of  obstinacy.  But,"  I  added,  tossing 
my  head,  "  we  shall  soon  see  which  of  us  is  in  the  right." 

I  confess  that  in  this  instance   I  allowed  myself  too 


;OUB  DEPARTURE.  279 

easily  to  be  led  astray  by  flattering  illusions  ;  but  I  must 
add,  that  it  was  for  the  last  time ;  for,  thenceforth,  I  was 
so  skeptical  as  regarded  calculations,  that  my  modest  ex- 
pectations always  remained  below  the  reality. 

The  period  for  starting  soon  arrived,  and  we  made  our 
preparations  with  incredible  activity,  for  I  desired  to  lose 
as  little  time  as  possible  between  the  closing  of  my  per- 
formances at  Paris  and  their  commencement  in  Brussels. 

The  Great  Northern  line  not  being  open  at  that  period, 
I  was  obliged  to  content  myself  with  a  post-chaise.  Con- 
sequently, I  hired  from  a  builder  of  public  conveyances, 
for  two  hundred  francs  a  month,  a  diligence  which  had 
formerly  been  used  in  the  environs  of  Paris ;  it  was  com- 
posed of  a  coupe*  and  a  vast  rotonde,  over  which  was  an 
impe'riale  for  the  luggage.  On  the  25th  of  May,  the  day 
fixed  for  our  departure,  my  carriage  was  loaded  with  an 
immense  number  of  chests,  containing  my  apparatus,  and 
after  we  had  taken  our  places,  the  postillion's  whip  cracked, 
and  we  started. 

We  took  with  us  on  this  trip,  besides  my  two  boys  who 
performed  with  me,  a  manager,  a  workman,  also  acting  as 
servant,  and  my  wife's  mother,  who  came  partly  for 
pleasure,  and  partly  to  help  her  daughter  in  her  theatrical 
details.  Galloping  through  Paris,  we  soon  left  the  Fau- 
bourg and  the  Barri£re  St.  Denis  behind  us.  The  weather 
was  splendid  —  a  perfect  spring  evening;  my  wife  and  I, 
with  the  children,  were  comfortably  established  in  the 
coupe*,  and  as  it  was  Madame  Robert-Houdin's  first  jour- 
ney, she  was  so  delighted  with  it,  that  I  believe,  if  I  had 
then  offered  her  the  calculation  of  my  presumed  profits, 
she  would  probably  have  herself  augmented  it.  For  my 
own  part,  I  was  plunged  in  a  delicious  reverie.  I  recalled 
my  journey  with  Torrini,  and  while  giving  a  thought  of 


280  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

regret  to  that  excellent  friend,  I  compared  his  carriage  with 
my  brilliant  equipage,  his  modest  claims  on  fortune  with 
the  magnificent  prospects  promised  me;  and  I  could  not 
help  yielding  to  a  feeling  of  noble  pride  when  I  remem- 
bered I  owed  this  position  solely  to  my  labor  and  to  my 
energy.  Then,  finding  myself  freed  from  the  annoyance 
of  any  theatrical  administration,  and  my  inventive  ideas 
abandoned,  I  experienced  an  undefinable  comfort,  and 
were  it  not  for  the  fear  of  making  a  pun,  I  would  add,  at 
this  moment  I  was  really  transported. 

What  would  I  have  given  to  see  myself  thus  bowling 
along  in  my  own  carriage !  I  fancied  that  the  very 
passers-by  regarded  us  with  a  certain  degree  of  satisfac- 
tion; and  in  this  infantile  illusion  I  smiled  upon  them 
most  benignantly. 

At  some  distance  from  the  barrier  we  stopped. 

"  Will  you  please  to  get  out  and  have  your  carriage 
weighed?  Here  is  the  office." 

"Before  proceeding  to  weigh,"  the  receiver  of  the  toll 
said,  approaching  me,  "  I  warn  you  that  I  shall  summons 
you  for  carrying  a  heavier  weight  than  the  law  allows." 

I  could  not  appeal  to  my  ignorance  of  this,  for  no  one 
ought  to  be  ignorant  of  the  law ;  I  therefore  submitted 
philosophically  enough  to  the  threatened  summons,  and  we 
soon  recommenced  our  journey,  laughing  heartily  at  the 
incident.  The  shades  of  night  began  to  cover  the  country 
when  we  reached  the  environs  of  Senlis.  An  old  beggar, 
seeing  us  approaching,  held  out  his  hat ;  I  understood  this 
expressive  gesture,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  doing  a 
clever  trick  and  a  good  action  at  the  same  time ;  for  I 
threw  out  a  penny,  which  fell  in  his  hat. 

I  had  hardly  executed  this  adroit  manoeuvre,  when  cries 
of  "  Stop  !  stop !"  reached  my  ear;  and  at  the  same  time 


A  NARROW  ESCAPE.  281 

I  saw  the  old  man  running  panting  after  the  carriage,  and 
shouting.  The  postillion  at  length  stopped  the  horses,  and 
he  was  just  in  time  —  a  few  paces  further  on,  and  our 
heavy  carriage  would  have  been  upset.  The  worthy  beggar 
had  perceived  that  one  of  our  wheels  was  on  the  point  of 
losing  its  tire,  and  as  the  old  man  in  his  haste  had  lost  his 
coin,  and  was  beginning  to  look  for  it,  I  spared  him  this 
trouble  by  giving  him  a  five-franc  piece. 

How  true  it  is  that  an  act  of  kindness  is  never  lost :  to 
a  simple  penny  we  owed  our  escape  from  an  accident,  the 
consequences  of  which  would  have  been  incalculable.  A 
neighboring  cartwright  soon  came  up  and  told  us  it  was 
necessary  to  have  the  two  wheels  of  the  carriage  repaired ; 
and  he  gave  us  the  following  explanation  of  the  accident 
that  had  occurred : 

The  diligence  had  been  standing  for  a  long  time  in  a 
damp  coach-house,  and  the  felloes  had  swollen.  The  heat 
produced  by  our  rapid  locomotion  had  dried  them,  and 
they  had  caught  fire  under  the  tire.  The  operation  lasted 
four  hours,  and  cost  me  forty  francs ;  this  was,  perhaps, 
twenty  more  than  it  was  worth,  but  what  could  I  do  but 
pay,  as  I  should  have  lost  precious  time  by  appealing  to 
the  law  ? 

I  was  beginning  to  understand  that  travelling  impres- 
sions in  a  diligence  are  not  at  all  of  a  nature  to  enrich  a 
traveller;  but  the  reflection  came  too  late,  and  I  could 
only  continue  my  journey.  I,  therefore,  did  so,  not  very 
gaily,  perhaps,  but  at  any  rate  with  a  degree  of  careless 
resignation. 

I  will  pass  over  the  details  of  a  thousand  petty  miseries 
we  had  to  undergo,  like  so  many  pin-pricks  echeloned  on 
our  passage  to  prepare  us  for  more  bitter  deceptions.  We 
at  length  reached  Quidvrain,  the  frontier  town  of  Belgium, 


282  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

where  we  were  to  give  up  our  horses  and  put  our  car- 
riage on  the  railway  running  to  Brussels;  beforehand, 
however,  we  had  to  endure  the  formalities  of  the  custom- 
house. 

I  hoped,  as  the  theatrical  agent  had  informed  me,  to 
pass  all  my  traps  summarily,  by  declaring  the  nature  of 
my  apparatus,  and  hence  I  went  to  the  office  and  made 
my  declaration. 

"  There  is  only  one  way  of  passing  your  luggage,  sir," 
a  clerk  said  to  me,  very  politely.  (Belgian  officials  are 
generally  very  gentle  and  civil  —  at  least,  I  always  found 
them  so.) 

"Then,"  I  replied,  in  the  same  tone,  "will  you  have 
the  kindness,  sir,  to  tell  me  the  way,  that  I  may  profit  by 
it  as  speedily  as  possible  ?" 

"  You  must  unpack  your  instruments,  put  an  ad  valorem 
duty  on  them,  which  the  comptroller  will  verify,  and  pay 
25  per  cent,  on  the  amount,  after  which  you  can  start  as 
soon  as  you  please." 

"  But,  sir,  that  is  not  possible,"  I  said,  greatly  annoyed 
at  this  contretemps. 

"  And  why  not  ?" 

"  Because  my  instruments  are  not  merchandise." 

I  then  explained  to  my  clerk  that  I  was  going  to  Brus- 
sels to  give  some  performances,  after  which  I  intended  to 
return  to  France  with  the  same  luggage.  According  to 
the  information  the  official  gave  me,  it  seems  I  had  neg- 
lected to  fulfil  a  simple  formality,  through  the  want  of 
which  the  office  at  Quie'vrain  would  not  let  me  go  on  with- 
out payment.  To  pass  my  instruments  duty  free,  I  ought 
to  have  applied  to  the  Belgian  Minister,  who  would  wil- 
lingly have  granted  me  the  permission.  I  could  certainly 
do  so  still,  but  I  could  not  receive  an  answer  under  a  week, 


THE  DIRECTOR  OF  THE  CUSTOMS.  283 

and  that  was  just  three  days  after  the  period  fixed  for  my 
commencing  at  Brussels. 

Hence  I  found  myself  between  the  horns  of  a  dilemma. 
I  must  either,  after  paying  a  heavy  duty,  lose  precious 
time  in  packing,  valuing  and  unpacking  my  instruments, 
or  forfeit  six  thousand  francs  to  my  manager  while  await- 
ing a  ministerial  reply.  Although  I  made  all  sorts  of  sup- 
plications to  the  different  custom  officials,  I  could  only 
obtain  this  answer,  dictated  bv  their  inflexible  orders,  "  We 
can  do  nothing." 

I  was  in  despair;  in  vain,  conforming  to  the  maxim, 
"  It  is  better  to  address  the  king  than  his  officials,"  I 
pursued  the  director  himself  with  my  entreaties  ;  he  would 
not  hear  a  word.  He  was  a  stout,  good-looking  man,  of  some 
fifty  years  of  age,  dressed  in  an  enormous  paletot,  much 
resembling  in  cut  the  one  I  have  described  as  my  jcostume 
when  learning  my  sleight-of-hand  tricks  at  Tours. 

We  were  both  standing  at  the  door  of  the  custom-house, 
near  the  high  road,  where  my  chests  had  been  deposited. 
Wearied  with  listening  to  my  eternal  remonstrances,  the 
director  began  talking  to  me  about  indifferent  matters ; 
but  I  always  led  the  conversation  back  to  the  same 
subject. 

"You  are  a  prestidigitator,  then ?"  my  stout  Belgian 
said  to  me,  laying  a  stress  on  this  word,  to  prove  to  me 
that  he  knew  the  pompous  title  by  which  the  juggler  is 
distinguished. 

"  Yes,  sir,  that  is  my  profession." 

"  Ah,  ah  !  very  good ;  I  know  several  celebrities  in  that 
art.  I  have  even  witnessed  their  performances  with  a 
great  deal  of  pleasure." 

While  my  amateur  was  thus  talking,  an  idea  occurred 
to  me,  which  I  immediately  put  in  execution,  for  I  trusted 


284  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

the  result  of  it  would  powerfully  aid  in  favoring  my  en- 
treaties. 

"What  are  your  most  striking  tricks?"  the  stout  man 
added,  in  the  tone  of  a  perfect  connoisseur. 

"  I  really  cannot  describe  them  to  you,  it  would  be  too 
difficult.  There  is  one  which  can  only  be  appreciated 
when  seen;  but  I  can  easily  give  you  a  specimen." 

"I  should  much  like  it,  if  you  would,"  the  official  said, 
not  sorry  thus  to  console  himself  for  the  trouble  I  had 
caused  him.  My  son,  at  this  moment,  was  playing  some 
distance  off  on  the  high  road,  and  kicking  a  pebble  about. 

"Emile!"  I  cried,  hailing  him,  "can  you  tell  us  what 
this  gentleman  has  in  his  pocket?" 

"  Certainly  !"  the  boy  replied,  without  leaving  off  his 
game;  "he  has  a  blue-striped  handkerchief." 

"  Oh,  oh !"  the  stout  gentleman  said,  with  an  air  of 
astonishment.  Then  he  recovered,  and  putting  his  hands 
in  both  pockets  to  conceal  their  contents, 

"  That's  all  very  good  !"  he  added,  with  an  air  of  doubt ; 
"  but  chance  may  have  aided  that  discovery." 

After  a  slight  pause,  during  which  he  seemed  conside- 
rably bothered,  he  continued ! 

"  Can  he  tell  me,  though,  what  is  under  the  handker- 
chief?" 

"  The  gentleman  asks  what  is  under  the  handkerchief  ?" 
I  shouted  to  my  son. 

"  There  is,  he  replied,  in  the  same  loud  voice,  "  a  green 
morocco  spectacle  case,  without  the  spectacles." 

"That's  really  curious — very  curious !"  said  the  man 
of  the  paletot.  "But,"  he  added,  shrugging  his  shoul- 
ders, "  I  should  much  like  him  to  mention  the  article  under 
the  spectacle  case." 

And  my  incredulous  friend  shoved  his  hands   in  his 


A  FRIEND  IN  NEED.  285 

pockets.  I  drew  a  good  omen  from  this  last  exclamation, 
and  so,  desirous  to  ensure  my  success,  I  took  my  precau- 
tions that  my  son  should  answer  correctly,  and  I  trans- 
mitted him  the  question  just  asked  me. 

Emile,  who  had  not  left  off  his  game  for  a  moment, 
exclaimed,  as  if  anxious  to  get  rid  of  us,  "  It  is  a  piece 
of  sugar  which  the  gentleman  saved  from  his  cup  of 
coffee." 

"  Ah !  that  is  too  fine !"  the  director  exclaimed,  in  a 
tone  of  admiration;  "the  lad  is  a  sorcerer." 

My  second-sight  performance  was  at  an  end ;  still  I  saw 
with  pleasure  that  it  produced  a  lively  impression  on  the 
director  of  the  customs,  who,  after  some  moments'  reflec- 
tion, himself  returned  to  the  subject  we  had  left. 

"  Come,  sir,"  he  remarked,  "  I  will  infringe  my  regula- 
tions for  your  sake.  We  will  not  open  your  chests ;  I  will 
rely  on  your  statement  of  their  contents  and  value,  and 
you  will  pay  the  duty  according  to  the  tariff.  When  you 
have  reached  Brussels,  and  have  obtained  the  ministerial 
authority  to  introduce  your  instruments  duty  free,  I  will 
return  you  the  money  you  have  paid." 

I  thanked  my  new  protector,  and,  a  few  hours  later,  per- 
sonnel and  luggage  had  reached  the  station  at  Brussels. 

Before  leaving  Quie'vrain  for  ever,  I  will  give  my  reader 
an  idea  of  the  conjuring  trick  which  enabled  me  to  produce 
those  startling  instances  of  second  sight  to  which  I  owed 
my  deliverance. 

I  have  already  said  that  the  director  wore  a  paletot, 
with  large  pockets,  so,  profiting  by  the  art  by  which  I  had 
so  cleverly  emptied  Comte's  pockets  some  time  before,  I 
found  out  what  he  had  in  them,  and  my  son  consequently 
learned  it  from  me.  As  for  the  piece  of  sugar,  it  was  easy 
enough  to  perceive  by  its  regular  shape  that  it  had  come 


286  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

from  a  cafe*  —  besides,  I  could  have  no  doubt  that  a  lump  of 
sugar,  taken  from  the  pocket  of  a  man  of  fifty,  and,  above 
all,  a  Belgian,  must  be  saved  from  his  after-dinner  coffee. 

At  the  Brussels  station,  a  postillion  who  had  thj-ee  horses 
out  of  work,  offered  to  take  our  heavy  carriage  to  the 
Tirlemont  Hotel,  and  I  consented,  for  I  really  knew  not 
what  hotel  to  go  to.  After  driving  through  the  city  at 
full  speed,  we  entered  a  winding  street,  in  the  midst  of 
which  our  driver  began  smacking  his  whip  loudly  to  an- 
nounce our  arrival,  and  with  the  skill  of  a  practised  driver, 
he  turned  into  an  archway  that  opened  on  to  the  hotel 
yard.  We  made  a  princely  entre'e  here,  which  reminded 
me  of  our  departure  from  Paris,  for  the  master  of  the 
hotel,  his  wife,  and  the  servants,  were  all  at  their  posts 
ready  to  receive  us  worthily.  We  had  gone  safely  through 
about  half  the  narrow  entry,  when  our  vehicle  suddenly 
stopped,  as  if  riveted  to  the  pavement :  blows  fell  like  hail 
on  the  unhappy  steeds,  but  these,  though  accompanied  by 
vigorous  oaths  and  stimulants  of  every  description,  could 
not  conquer  the  unknown  obstacle. 

Being  quite  convinced  that  the  road  was  clear  on  either 
side,  our  postillion  decided  on  trying  a  final  effort ;  so  he 
got  down  rapidly  from  his  seat,  took  the  horses  by  the  bit, 
and  drew  them  forward  sharply.  The  carriage  appeared 
to  yield  to  this  powerful  attraction,  and  began  to  move 
slowly.  All  at  once  a  sound  of  breaking  was  heard,  while 
at  the  same  moment  cries  of  alarm  issued  from  both  com- 
partments of  the  carriage. 

The  doors  were  hurriedly  opened,  women  and  children 
emerged,  and  the  last  of  our  party  was  still  on  the  step, 
when  the  impe'riale  gave  way,  and  the  numerous  heavy 
trunks  crashed  into  the  centre  of  the  carriage.  In  the 
emotion  produced  by  such  danger,  I  looked  round  my 


THE  PARK  THEATRE.  287 

party,  and  thanks  to  Heaven,  we  were  all  safe  and  sound. 

My  wife  and  children  were  carefully  attended  to,  while 
I,  though  not  entirely  recovered  from  my  terror,  sought 
the  cause  of  this  unforeseen  catastrophe.  I  soon  dis- 
covered that  our  carriage,  being  too  highly  loaded,  had 
caught  in  the  projecting  sides  of  the  archway,  and  that 
this  gradual  and  powerful  pressure  had  forced  the  moul- 
dering framework  of  our  old  vehicle  to  give  way. 
.  In  comparison  with  the  misfortune  from  which  we  had  so 
miraculously  escaped,  the  injury  to  the  carriage  was  an 
accident  of  no  importance  —  a  loss  which  would  be  quickly 
forgotten  in  the  success  that  awaited  us.  The  carriage 
was  sent  to  be  repaired,  and  the  accident  was  soon  a  thing 
of  the  past,  as  we  sought  to  recover  from  the  fatigue  of 
our  long  and  wearying  journey. 

My  first  walk  in  Brussels  led  me  straight  to  the  mana- 
ger, who  appeared  delighted  at  my  keeping  my  word,  and 
gave  me  a  most  polite  reception :  thence,  I  proceeded  to 
the  Park  Theatre,  where  I  was  to  give  my  performances. 

This  building,  lately  destroyed  by  fire,  was  situated  on 
one  of  the  most  agreeable  sites  in  the  city,  for  it  formed 
the  angle  of  a  magnificent  park,  which  is  to  Brussels  what 
the  Tuilleries  are  to  Paris. 

During  the  summer  no  theatrical  performance  took 
place,  and  it  was  to  fill  up  this  gap  that  the  engagement 
had  been  formed  with  me. 

This  theatre  was  city  property,  and  I  learned  the  fact 
in  the  following  way.  The  porter,  whom  the  manager 
ought  to  have  recommended  to  give  me  all  necessary  in- 
formation, stated  to  me  that  he  was  attached  to  the 
theatre,  both  as  keeper  and  head  machinist.  He  also  told 
me,  with  pedantic  gravity,  that  I  could  not  drive  in  a  nail, 
form  an  opening  in  the  stage,  or,  in  a  word,  make  the 


288  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

slightest   change,  until  he,   as    responsible   official,  had 
referred  the  point  to  the  city  architect. 

"  Such  supervision  is  not  possible,"  I  said  to  this  im- 
portant personage.  "  How  do  you  manage,  then,  when 
the  theatrical  performances  are  on?" 

"  Ah,  that  is  different.  As  the  architect  places  confi- 
dence in  me,  he  allows  me  to  do  whatever  I  think  proper, 
and  I  am  responsible  for  everything." 

"  If  that  is  all,  I  can  take  the  responsibility  on  myself, 
and  the  matter  can  be  settled  at  once." 

"  If  you  think  so,"  the  porter  replied,  in  an  ironical 
tone,  "  you  can  apply  to  the  city  authorities ;  the  council 
will  take  it  into  consideration,  and  you  will  receive  per- 
mission in  a  fortnight." 

I  saw  that  the  crafty  gentleman  wished  to  force  himself 
upon  me,  but  I  soon  destroyed  his  hopes  by  making  him 
understand  I  would  allow  no  stranger  to  be  initiated  into 
my  mysterious  arrangements. 

This  conversation  had  taken  place  on  the  stage,  by  the 
light  of  a  candle  which  the  conservator  of  the  royal  theatre 
held  in  his  hand,  but  so  soon  as  I  had  intimated  my  inten- 
tion of  doing  without  him,  he  turned  on  his  heel  and  re- 
tired to  his  den,  leaving  us  in  perfect  darkness. 

"Wait  a  moment,  sir,"  I  cried  to  him;  "we  cannot  be 
groping  about  in  this  way ;  so,  open  the  windows." 

"Windows!"  the  machinist  said,  with  a  laugh ;  "who 
ever  heard  of  windows  in  a  theatre  ?  What  use  would  they 
be  when  the  rehearsals  always  take  place  by  candle-light  ?" 

"Excellently  reasoned,  my  worthy  man,"  I  replied, 
checking  my  inclination  to  laugh ;  "  I  always  thought  like 
you  that  windows  could  be  done  without  if  you  had  lights, 
but  when  you  have  no  lights " 

"  Why,  then,  you  do  as  I  do,  you  go  money  in  hand  to 


CHESTER  THEATRE.  289 

the  grocer's  and  buy  candles;  I  see  no  difficulty  in  that." 

And,  while  making  this  reply,  the  porter  and  his  candle 
were  gradually  eclipsed.  I  had  no  time  to  lose  in  arguing, 
and  besides,  this  man,  whom  I  would  have  gladly  brought 
to  his  senses  under  other  circumstances,  might  play  me 
some  trick  that  might  prevent  me  performing  mine.  My 
instruments  would  remain,  so  to  speak,  at  his  mercy 
during  the  night,  and  he  would  have  all  possible  facility 
to  do  me  some  injury,  which  he  could  deny  in  safety. 
Hence,  I  sent  my  servant  straight  to  the  grocer's,  that 
natural  providence  of  any  one  who  wants  a  light. 

All  my  readers  have  probably  read  descriptions  of  theat- 
rical interiors,  and  they  are  all  much  alike,  although  their 
cleanliness  and  arrangement  vary  according  to  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  stage-manager.  Nor  is  the  same  luxury  of 
decorations  and  accessories  visible  in  all  theatres;  some 
are  literally  encumbered  with  them,  while  others  are 
almost  entirely  wanting  in  these  qualities. 

I  remember  that,  when  giving  a  dozen  performances  at 
Chester,  I  found  the  theatrical  decorations  charmingly 
original.  Properly  speaking,  there  was  only  one  scene ; 
but,  as  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  produce  the  scenic 
effect  with  this,  the  machinist  had  very  cleverly  painted  a 
forest  on  the  back,  and  the  scene  moved  on  a  pivot,  which 
my  friend  turned  by  the  aid  of  a  winch,  and  thus  could 
display  a  hall  or  a  forest  at  will. 

With  such  feeble  resources,  the  scenic  illusion  was  often 
compromised,  but,  according  to  the  machinist,  the  actors 
corrected  any  glaring  anachronisms  of  place  by  ingenious 
new  readings,  and  sometimes,  too,  by  the  expression  of 
their  faces. 

This  machinist  was  like  his  scenery,  for  he  filled  many 
parts;  he  was  in  turn  porter,  painter,  wig-maker,  pro- 

T 


290  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

perty  man,  tailor,  and  ticket-taker;  but  with  so  many 
strings  to  his  bow,  this  worthy  man  found  himself  out  of 
work  during  three-parts  of  the  year,  for  during  that  period 
there  were  no  performances  at  Chester. 

But  to  return  to  the  porter,  machinist,  and  keeper  of 
the  Park  Theatre.  This  man  could  never  forgive  my  re- 
fusal of  his  services,  and  his  impertinence  and  ill-will  pur- 
sued me  to  the  close,  and  occasioned  me  continual  annoy- 
ance ;  and  although  I  complained  to  the  manager,  I  could 
obtain  no  redress.  The  porter,  being  paid  by  government, 
claimed  the  right,  like  his  brethren  the  porters  of  Paris, 
of  making  his  tenants  feel  his  power  and  his  independence. 

I  have  performed  in  many  royal  theatres,  but  I  never 
had  to  deal  with  any  but  most  polite  machinists  and  mana- 
gers, who  could  flatter  themselves  they  were  masters  in 
their  own  house. 

However,  I  managed  to  surmount  difficulties  of  every 
description,  and  the  day  of  my  first  representation  arrived. 

On  this  very  day  was  opened  that  fiery  furnace  which 
was  called  "the  summer  of  1846;"  and  the  heat  was  as- 
tounding. Still,  the  theatre  was  full,  and  the  success  of 
my  experiments  was  as  great  as  I  could  desire.  The 
second  sight,  especially,  produced  an  enthusiasm  which 
the  generally  cold  inhabitants  of  Brussels  expressed  by 
noisy  bravos. 

I  was  proud  and  happy,  for,  in  addition  to  the  satisfac- 
tion success  always  produces,  I  foresaw  the  realization  of 
the  theatrical  agent's  brilliant  promises.  Thus,  to  take  a 
slight  revenge  for  my  cashier's  obstinacy,  I  never  failed, 
each  time  I  left  the  stage,  to  say  to  her  in  a  tone  of  tri- 
umph: 

"  Well !  do  you  believe  in  the  one  hundred  thousand 
francs  now?  That's  how  I  like  business." 


FREE  ADMISSIONS.  291 

And  I  returned  on  the  stage  with  a  smiling  and  ani- 
mated face. 

The  performance  over,  the  curtain  fell  on  the  illusions 
I  had  produced,  as  well  as  on  those  I  had  nursed  as  to  my 
receipts.  They  were  equally  ephemeral  in  either  case,  for 
I  had  scarcely  left  the  stage  when  I  saw  my  manager 
coming  towards  me  in  the  attitude  once  assumed  by  the 
steeds  of  Hippolytus,  according  to  Theramene's  recital. 
He,  so  joyous  at  the  commencement  of  the  performance, 

L'oeil  inornc  maintenant  et  la  tete  baiss^e, 
Semblait  se  conformer  a  sa  triste  pens£e. 

"  Here,  sir,"  he  said,  pointing  to  a  small  rouleau,  "  is 
your  share." 

"  What !  my  share  ?"  I  exclaimed,  in  a  tone  of  inde- 
scribable disappointment ;  "  and  the  rest  ?" 

"  The  rest,  sir,  has  gone  in  the  expenses,  and  the  poor- 
rate." 

"But  the  rest,"  I  still  insisted — "the  rest,  what  has 
become  of  it?" 

"Well,  sir,"  my  manager  replied,  in  a  lamentable  tone, 
"  the  cashier  states  that  the  greater  part  of  the  audience 
received  free  admissions." 

Irritated  by  such  an  explanation,  I  hurried  to  the  office, 
and  opened  and  closed  the  door  violently.  The  employe* 
turned  towards  me,  and  without  being  affected  by  my 
abruptness,  he  bowed  to  me  politely  (another  instance  of 
Belgian  courtesy). 

"  How  is  it,"  I  said,  without  replying  to  his  bow,  "that 
so  many  free  admissions  were  given  without  my  sanction  ?" 

"  They  were  given,  sir,  by  the  manager's  orders,"  the 
man  replied,  with  a  calmness  that  made  me  believe  he  was 
used  to  such  scenes,  "  and  you  must  be  aware,"  he  added, 


292  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

in  a  conciliatory  tone,  "  that  there  are  numerous  claims  on 
the  first  night  of  a  new  performance  at  a  royal  theatre. 
Thus  we  have,  for  instance,  the  authorities,  the  city  archi- 
tect, the  manager  of  the  gas  company,  the  newspaper 
writers,  the  manager's  relations  and  friends,  the  police 
inspector,  who  has  a  right  to  a  box ;  and  all  these  gentle- 
men, as  you  may  suppose,  bring  their  families  with  them. 
We  have,  again *-" 

"Oh,  sir,"  I  replied,  ironically,  "for  goodness'  sake, 
stop,  for  if  you  go  on  at  that  rate  I  shall  begin  to  fear  you 
had  not  a  seat  left  for  the  paying  public.  To-morrow,  I 
presume,  I  shall  have  to  hand  you  back  the  modest  sum 
you  Have  just  sent  me.  However,  I  shall  certainly  insist 
on  an  explanation  with  the  manager." 

The  next  day  I  proceeded  to  call  on  M.  X ,  with 

the  firm  intention  of  evincing  to  him  my  dissatisfaction ; 
but  he  was  so  ready  with  his  explanations  that  I  could  not 
be  angry,  and  we  ended  by  agreeing  that,  henceforth,  all 
free  admissions  should  have  my  signature,  and  that  they 
should  not  be  dispensed  quite  so  liberally. 

This  measure,  perhaps,  checked  some  new  abuses,  but 
was  not  enough  to  suppress  them  all,,  for  though  the  thea- 
tre grew  more  and  more  crowded,  my  strong-box  did  not 
follow  the  same  progression. 

Far  from  netting  the  fabulous  sum  which  had  so  dazzled 
me,  I  only  brought  back  from  my  trip  to  Brussels  an  illu- 
sion dispelled  and  experience,  while,  as  my  cashier  had 
predicted,  my  expenses  rather  more  than  balanced  my  re- 
ceipts. 

I  have  great  reason  for  believing  that,  during  my  stay 
at  the  Park  Theatre,  I  was  cheated  out  of  my  proper 
share.  It  was  my  first  affair  of  the  kind,  and  I  was 
obliged  to  study  at  my  own  expense ;  but,  from  that  pe- 


TUEAT1UCAL  MANAGERS.  293 

riod,  I  was  on  my  guard,  and  evaded  every  attempt  at 
fraud.  I  will  add,  too,  that  at  a  later  date  I  had  the 
satisfaction  of  dealing  only  with  managers  of  well-known 
probity,  to  whom  I  gave  my  entire  confidence  without 
ever  having  any  reason  to  regret  it. 


294  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Reopening  of  my  Fantastic  Soirees  —  Minor  Miseries  of  Good  Luck  — 
Inconvenience  of  a  small  Theatre  —  My  Room  taken  by  Storm  —  A 
gratuitous  Performance — A  conscientious  Audience — Pleasant  Story 
about  a  Black  Silk  Cap  —  I  perform  at  the  Chateau  of  St.  Cloud — 
Cagliostro's  Casket — Holidays. 

THE  recommencement  of  the  performances  on  my  own 
stage  largely  recompensed  me  for  my  bitter  impressions  de 
voyage.  My  room  was  taken  a  week  beforehand  for  my 
first  performance,  as  well  as  for  the  following,  and  I  had 
to  send  away  four  times  as  many  persons  as  I  could  re- 
ceive. 

This  success  had  been  foreseen  by  the  theatrical  agent, 
and  I  owed  it  as  much  to  my  absence  from  the  capital  as 
to  the  attraction  my  experiments  held  out.  My  repertory 
was  still  a  novelty  to  the  Parisian  public,  as  I  had  started 
for  Brussels  at  the  height  of  my  success.  This  did  not 
prevent  me,  however,  from  offering  some  new  tricks,  one 
of  which  more  especially  produced  a  striking  effect. 

After  my  son  had  mounted  on  a  very  small  table,  I  cov- 
ered him  with  an  enormous  stuffed  cone,  which  concealed 
him  from  sight,  and  then,  at  the  sound  of  a  pistol,  the 
cone  was  thrown  over,  and  at  the  same  instant  the  lad 
appeared  at  my  side.  Afterwards,  in  large  theatres,  and 
especially  in  London,  this  trick  was  improved  upon,  and 
Beemed  more  marvellous  still.  Instead  of  appearing  by 


MINOR  MISERIES.  295 

my  side,  the  boy  was  instantaneously  transported  to  a  box 
at  a  long  distance  from  the  stage,  where  every  body  could 
easily  see  him. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  a  man  cannot  enjoy  perfect 
happiness  in  this  world,  and  that  the  greatest  prosperity 
has  its  disagreeable  side;  this  is  what  is  called  "the 
minor  evils  of  good  luck."  One  of  my  special  annoyances 

was  having  a  room  much  too  small,  which  disabled  me 

.  * 

from  satisfying  all  the  demands  made    for   places,  and, 

though  I  racked  my  brain,  I  could  hit  on  no  expedient  to 
remedy  this  inconvenience. 

As  I  have  already  said,  my  room  was  often  taken  be- 
forehand ;  in  that  case  the  office  was  not  opened,  and  a 
placard  on  the  door  announced  it  was  useless  for  any  non- 
holders  of  tickets  to  apply.  But  it  daily  happened  that 
persons,  annoyed  at  being  unable  to  enjoy  a  promised 
treat,  took  no  heed  of  the  notice  and  went  straight  to  the 
pay  place.  On  being  refused  admission,  they  abused  the 
money-taker,  and  still  more  the  management. 

These  complaints  were  generally  absurd,  and  of  the  fol- 
lowing description : 

"  Such  an  abuse  is  most  improper,"  one  of  these  disap- 
pointed persons  said,  with  great  simplicity;  "I  will  cer- 
tainly go  to-morrow  and  complain  to  the  prefect  of  police, 
and  we  shall  see  whether  Monsieur  Robert-Houdin  has  a 
right  to  have  too  small  a  theatre." 

When  these  recriminations  went  no  further,  I  confess  I 
laughed  at  them,  but  they  did  not  always  end  in  such  a 
pacific  manner.  My  employe's  were  sometimes  personally 
attacked,  and  on  one  occasion  my  theatre  was  taken  by 
storm.  The  story  is  worth  telling : 

One  evening  a  dozen  young  men,  after  heating  their 
brains  by  an  excellent  dinner,  presented  themselves  at  the 


296  MEMOIRS  OF  EOBERT-HOUDIN. 

door  of  my  theatre ;  the  notice  they  read  only  appeared  to 
them  an  excellent  jest.  Consequently,  paying  no  atten- 
tion to  the  observations  made  to  them,  they  collected 
round  the  door,  and  to  employ  the  usual  expression  in  such 
cases,  they  began  to  form  "the  head  of  the  tail."  Other 
visitors,  encouraged  by  their  example,  collected,  and  gradu- 
ally a  considerable  crowd  assembled  in  front  of  the 
theatre. 

The  manager,  informed  of  what  was  happening,  came 
forward,  and  prepared  to  address  the  crowd  from  the  head 
of  the  stairs,  after  coughing  to  render  his  voice  clearer. 
But  he  had  scarce  commenced  his  address,  when  his  voice 
was  drowned  by  derisive  laughter  and  shouts,  which  com- 
pelled his  silence.  In  his  despair,  he  came  to  tell  me  the 
dilemma,  and  ask  what  he  had  better  do. 

"Do  not  disturb  yourself,"  I  said;  "all  will  end  better 
than  you  expect.  Stay,"  I  added,  looking  at  my  watch  ; 
"  it  is  now  half-past  seven,  and  the  ticket-holders  will  begin 
to  arrive ;  so,  open  the  doors,  and,  as  soon  as  the  room  is 
full  the  public  outside  will  be  compelled  to  abandon  the 
ground." 

I  had  sarcely  uttered  the  words,  when  a  servant  came 
in  all  haste  to  tell  me  that  the  crowd  had  broken  down 
the  barrier,  and  rushed  into  the  room.  I  hastened  on  to 
the  stage,  and  through  the  hole  in  the  curtain,  could  as- 
sure myself  of  the  truth  of  the  statement :  the  room  was  full. 

I  confess  I  was  much  embarrassed  as  to  what  I  should 
do.  To  have  the  room  cleared  by  the  neighboring  guard 
was  a  scandal  I  wished  to  avoid,  and  I  could  not  calculate 
the  consequences.  Besides,  if  the  police  interfered,  I 
should  have  to  attend  at  the  court,  and  thus  lose  precious 
time.  Lastly,  the  Prefecture,  which  had  hitherto  imposed 
but  a  single  sentry  on  me,  would  not  fail  to  send  a  corpo- 


A  SUDDEN  INVASION.  297 

ral's  guard,  at  least,  to  the  great  increase  of  my  daily  ex- 
penses. 

I  immediately  formed  a  decision. 

"Have  the  doors  closed,"  I  said  to  my  manager,  "and 
put  up  a  notice  that,  owing  to  a  sudde^indisposition,  the 
evening's  performance  is  postponed  till  to-morrow.  As 
this  measure  applies  to  the  ticket-holders,  be  in  readiness 
to  return  the  money  to  those  who  will  not  exchange  their 
tickets.  As  for  me,"  I  continued,  "I  have  made  up  my 
mind.  I  will  give  a  gratis  performance,  and  my  revenge 
will  consist  in  compelling  the  public  to  be  ashaWd  of  the 
schoolboy  trick  they  have  played." 

This  plan  arranged,  I  prepared  to  do  the  honors  of  my 
house  properly,  and  the  curtain  soon  rose. 

When  I  appeared  on  the  stage,  I  noticed  that  the  greater 
number  of  the  spectators  evinced  considerable  embarrass- 
ment ;  still,  I  soon  put  them  at  their  ease  by  the  noncha- 
lant air  I  assumed,  as  if  ignorant  of  what  had  occurred. 
I  did  even  more.  I  performed  with  an  unusual  amount 
of  dash ;  and  when  the  time  arrived  to  offer  my  small  pre- 
sents, I  was  so  liberal  with  them  that  not  a  single  specta- 
tor was  overlooked. 

I  need  not  say  that  I  was  heartily  applauded.  The 
public  vied  with  me  in  "reciprocating"  compliments,  and 
thus  hoped  to  compensate  me  for  the  annoyance  they  fan- 
cied they  had  caused  me. 

An  original  and  extremely  comic  scene  was  performed 
when  my  audience  lingcringly  departed. 

Nearly  all  the  persons  present  had  only  seen  in  this 
assault  on  my  room  a  means  to  obtain  places,  and  each 
intended  to  pay  for  his  seat  after  having  occupied  it. 

But,  for  my  part,  I  determined  on  maintaining  the  origi- 
nal character  of  my  gratuitous  performance,  even  if  my 


298  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT  HOUDIN. 

pocket  suffered.  Thus,  foreseeing  this  feeling  of  delicacy, 
I  had  ordered  all  my  attendants  to  leave  before  the  per- 
formance was  over,  and  they  had  obeyed  me  so  well,  that 
manager,  money-taker,  and  box-openers  had  disappeared. 

I  then  posted  ^gnyself  where  I  could  see  everything 
without  being  noticed.  The  spectators  looked  for  the 
office;  searched  all  around  to  find  some  official;  thrust 
their  hands  in  their  pockets,  and  collected  in  small  groups, 
until,  worn  out,  they  went  away. 

Still,  the  public  would  not  allow  themselves  to  be  beaten, 
and  for  several  days  I  had  a  regular  procession  of  people 
coming  to  pay  their  debt.  Some  persons  added  their 
apologies,  and  I  also  received  by  post  a  note  for  100  fr., 
with  the  following  letter : 

"  SIR, —  Having  been  dragged  into  your  room  last  night 
by  a  party  of  thoughtless  young  men,  I  tried  in  vain,  after 
the  performance,  to  pay  for  the  seat  I  had  occupied. 

"  I  do  not  wish,  however,  to  quit  France  without  paying 
the  debt  I  have  contracted.  In  consequence,  estimating 
the  price  of  my  stall  by  the  pleasure  you  caused  me,  I 
send  you  a  hundred-franc  note,  which  I  beg  you  to  accept 
in  payment  of  the  debt  I  involuntarily  contracted. 

"  Still,  I  should  not  consider  myself  out  of  your  debt 
were  I  not  also  to  offer  you  my  compliments  for  your  in- 
teresting performance,  and  beg  you  to  accept,  sir,  the 
assurance  of  my  consideration." 

As  the  loss  entailed  on  me  by  the  assault  on  my  room 
was  light,  I  had  no  cause  to  repent  the  decision  I  had 
formed.  On  the  other  hand,  the  adventure  became  known, 
and  added  still  more  to  my  credit,  as  it  is  notorious  the 
public  prefer  going  to  theatres  where  they  are  certain  of 
finding  no  room. 


DANTAN,  THE  SCULPTOR.  299 

As  a  general  rule,  family  parties  came  to  see  me,  but  it 
was  not  unusual  for  a  number  of  persons  to  form  a  rendez- 
vous at  my  theatre.  The  following  incident  will  offer  an 
instance : 

The  ingenious  author  of  those  eccentric  caricatures, 
which  delight  everybody  who  is  not  himself  attacked,  Dan- 
tan  the  younger,  came  one  day  to  my  box-office. 

"  Madam,"  he  said  to  the  lady  in  command,  "  how  many 
stalls  have  you  to  let  ?" 

"I  will  consult  my  book,"  the  lady  replied.  "Do  you 
wish  them  for  to-night  ?" 

"No,  madam,  for  this  day  week." 

"  Oh,  in  that  case,  you  can  have  as  many  as  you  like." 

"  How,  as  many  as  I  like  ?  Why,  your  room  must  be 
made  of  india-rubber." 

"  No,  sir,  I  merely  mean  to  say  that  of  fifty  stalls  I 
have  at  my  disposal,  you  can  take  as  many  as  you  please." 

"Very  good,  madam,  I  now  understand,"  Dantan  con- 
tinued, laughingly ;  "  then,  if  I  can  have  as  many  as  I 
please,  have  the  goodness  to  keep  me  sixty." 

The  lady,  much  embarrassed  to  solve  this  problem,  sent 
for  me,  and  I  easily  arranged  the  affair  by  converting  the 
first  pit  row  into  stalls. 

The  reason  why  the  sculptor  required  so  many  seats 
was  as  follows : 

Dantan,  junior,  has  an  enormous  number  of  friends,  and 
the  original  idea  had  occurred  to  him  of  inviting  a  certain 
number  of  them  to  Robert-Houdin's  performance,  and  for 
that  purpose  he  had  engaged  these  sixty  seats. 

I  have  mentioned  this  incident,  because  it  both  proves 
the  renown  my  theatre  enjoyed  at  that  time,  and  reminds 
me  of  the  commencement  of  one  of  the  most  agreeable  ac- 
quaintances I  ever  made  in  my  life.  From  this  moment  I 


800  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

became,  and  have  always  remained,  one  of  the  intimate 
friends  of  the  celebrated  sculptor. 

Before  knowing  him  personally,  like  the  majority  of  his 
admirers,  I  was  unacquainted  with  his  serious  works,  but 
when  I  was  admitted  to  his  studio,  I  could  appreciate  the 
full  extent  of  his  talent. 

Dantan  has  in  this  room,  arranged  on  enormous  shelves, 
the  most  perfect  collection  of  busts  of  contemporary  celeb- 
rities. I  do  not  think  a  single  illustrious  person  of  the 
age  is  missing.  Each  is  properly  classified  and  arranged 
as  in  a  museum ;  monarchs  and  statesmen,  less  numerous 
than  the  others,  are  collected  on  one  shelf;  then  come 
authors,  musicians,  singers,  composers,  physicians,  war- 
riors, dramatic  artists  —  in  a  word  great  men  of  every 
description  and  country.  But  the  most  interesting  thing 
in  the  gallery  is  that  every  bust  is  accompanied  by  its 
caricature,  so  that,  after  admiring  the  original,  you  laugh 
heartily  at  noticing  all  the  comic  details  of  the  other. 

On  seeing  these  numberless  heads,  it  is  difficult  to 
imagine  that  one  man's  life  could  suffice  for  such  a  toil. 
Dantan,  however,  has  a  remarkable  talent  in  catching  the 
characteristic  features  of  a  face,  and  often  enough  he  need 
only  see  a  person  once  in  order  to  produce  an  extraordi- 
nary likeness.  Witness  the  following  fact,  which  I  will 
cite  as  much  for  its  singularity  as  because  it  bears  an 
affinity,  in  some  degree,  to  sleight-of-hand : 

The  son  of  Lieutenant-General  Baron  D came  one 

day  to  Dantan,  begging  him  to  make  a  bust  of  his  father. 
"I  will  not  hide  from  you,"  he  said  to  the  artist,  "that 
you -will  encounter  an  almost  insurmountable  difficulty  in 
performing  your  task.  Not  only  would  the  general  never 
consent  to  sit  to  you,  but  you  cannot  even  be  introduced  to 
him  at  home.  As  my  father  has  been  ill  for  many  years, 


A  DIFFICULT  JOB.  301 

he  sees  no  other  persons  than  his  servants,  and  he  keeps 
almost  always  alone.  Hence,  you  will  have  to  manage  to 
catch  a  glimpse  at  him  unawares,  but  I  do  not  know  how." 

"  Does  your  father  never  go  out?"  the  sculptor  asked. 

"  Oh  yes,  sir ;  every  afternoon  at  four  my  father  takes 
the  'bus  and  goes  to  read  the  papers  at  a  room  in  the 
Place  de  la  Madeleine,  after  which  he  comes  back  and 
shuts  himself  up  again." 

"  I  require  no  more,"  the  artist  said.  "  I  will  begin 
making  my  observations  to-day,  and  set  to  work  to- 
morrow." 

In  fact,  at  four  o'clock  precisely,  Dantan  posted  himself 
before  a  house  forming  the  corner  of  the  Boulevards  and 
the  Rue  Louis-le- Grand,  and  soon  saw  the  general  come 
out  and  walk  to  an  omnibus.  The  sculptor  followed  his 
model  and  entered  the  vehicle  with  him,  but,  unfortunately, 
the  only  two  seats  vacant  were  on  the  same  side,  and  the 
artist  could  only  make  profile  studies,  being  very  careful 
not  to  attract  attention. 

At  last  the  'bus  stopped  before  the  Madeleine  church ; 
pursuer  and  pursued  went  in  together  to  the  same  reading- 
room,  where  each  took  up  his  favorite  paper,  and  was  soon 
lost  in  the  perusal. 

Dantan  had  taken  a  seat  opposite  the  general,  and, 
while  apparently  absorbed  in  a  leader,  took  stealthy 
glances  at  his  model. 

All  was  going  on  favorably,  and  the  artist  continued  his 
studies  quietly  for  some  moments,  until  the  general,  already 
surprised  that  his  fellow-passenger  should  come  to  the  same 
reading-room,  caught  his  eye  fixed  upon  himself. 

Annoyed  by  this  impertinent  curiosity,  for  which  he 
could  assign  no  reason,  he  attempted  to  foil  it  by  forming 
a  rampart  of  his  enormous  paper. 


302  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

The  face  of  the  old  baron  disappeared,  but  the  top  of 
his  head  was  still  visible,  and  Dantan  would  have  been 
able  to  continue  his  task  satisfactorily,  had  it  not  been  for 
a  frightful  silk  cap  he  wore. 

Many  a  conjurer,  even  the  most  famous,  would  have 
been  checked  by  such  a  difficulty;  but  Dantan  did  not 
long  rack  his  brains,  which  renders  his  trick  only  the  more 
striking. 

He  went  up  to  the  lady  at  the  counter,  spoke  with  her 
for  a  few  moments,  and  then  quietly  returned  to  his  post 
of  observation. 

It  is  necessary  to  state  that  the  reading-room,  heated 
by  a  large  stove,  was  already  quite  warm  enough ;  but 
suddenly  an  insupportable  degree  of  heat  filled  the  room, 
and  drops  of  perspiration  stood  on  the  foreheads  of  several 
persons. 

The  general,  who  at  this  moment  held  the  Gf-azette  des 
Tribunaux  in  his  hand,  and  was  doubtlessly  amusing  him- 
self with  some  lugubrious  drama,  was  one  of  the  last  to 
notice  the  heightened  temperature.  Even  he,  though,  at 
length  found  it  necessary  to  remove  his  silk  cap,  and  put 
it  in  his  pocket,  growling,  "  Confound  it,  how  hot  the 
room  is !" 

The  trick  was  done. 

The  reader  has  already  guessed  that  the  clever  sculptor 
was  the  cause  of  this  vapor-bath,  which  he  induced  the 
lady  to  produce  by  explaining  to  her  his  important  mission. 

This  result  once  obtained,  Dantan  hastily  made  his 
phrenological  studies  on  the  venerable  head  of  the  old 
warrior ;  then,  rising  from  the  table,  he  cast  a  final  glance 
over  his  features,  photographed  him,  so  to  speak,  in  his 
mind,  and  ran  off  to  set  to  work. 

A  short  time  after,  the   sculptor  sent  the    general's 


ST.  CLOUD.  303 

family  the  most  perfect  bust  possibly  ever  produced  by 
his  chisel. 

Here  I  will  close  the  parenthesis  I  commenced  with 
reference  to  the  evils  the  smallness  of  my  theatre  entailed 
on  me  ;  and  I  will  now  begin  another  about  the  pleasures 
my  success  procured  me. 

At  the  beginning  of  November,  I  received  a  "  command  " 
to  St.  Cloud,  to  give  a  performance  before  Louis  Philippe 
and  his  family.  I  accepted  the  invitation  with  the  great- 
est pleasure ;  for  as  I  had  never  yet  performed  before  a 
crowned  head,  this  was  an  important  event  for  me. 

I  had  six  days  before  me  to  make  my  preparations,  and 
I  took  all  possible  pains,  even  arranging  a  trick  for  the 
occasion,  from  which  I  had  reason  to  expect  an  excellent 
result. 

On  the  day  fixed  for  my  performance,  a  fourgon  came 
at  an  early  hour  to  fetch  me  and  my  apparatus,  and  we 
were  conveyed  to  the  chateau.  A  theatre  had  been  put 
up  in  a  large  hall  selected  by  the  king  for  the  represen- 
tation, and  in  order  that  I  might  not  be  disturbed  in  my 
preparations,  a  guard  was  placed  at  one  of  the  doors 
leading  into  the  corridor.  I  also  noticed  three  other  doors  in 
this  apartment ;  one,  composed  of  glass,  opened  on  to  the 
garden  opposite  a  passage  filled  with  splendid  orange- 
trees  ;  the  two  others,  to  the  right  and  left,  communicated 
with  the  apartments  of  the  king  and  the  Duchess  of 
Orleans. 

I  was  busy  arranging  my  apparatus,  when  I  heard  one 
of  the  doors  I  have  just  mentioned  open  quietly,  and  di- 
rectly a  voice  made  the  following  inquiry  in  the  most  affa- 
ble manner : 

"  Monsieur  Robert-Houdin,  may  I  be  permitted  to  come 
in?" 


304  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

I  turned  my  head  in  the  direction,  and  recognized  the 
king,  who,  having  asked  this  question  merely  as  a  form  of 
introduction,  had  not  waited  for  my  reply  to  walk  towards 
me. 

I  bowed  respectfully. 

"  Have  you  all  you  require  for  your  preparations  ?"  the 
king  asked  me. 

"  Yes,  sire ;  the  steward  of  the  chateau  supplied  me 
with  skilled  workmen,  who  speedily  put  up  this  little 
stage." 

My  tahles,  consoles  and  tabourets,  as  well  as  the  vari- 
ous instruments  for  my  performance,  symmetrically  ar- 
ranged on  the  stage,  already  presented  an  elegant  appear- 
ance. 

"  This  is  all  very  pretty,"  the  king  said  to  me,  drawing 
near  the  stage,  and  casting  a  stealthy  glance  on  some  of 
my  apparatus ;  "I  see  with  pleasure  that  the  artist  of 
1846  will  justify  the  good  opinion  produced  by  the  me- 
chanician of  1844." 

"Sire,"  I  replied,  "  on  this  day  I  will  strive,  as  I  did 
two  years  ago,  to  render  myself  worthy  of  the  great  favor 
your  majesty  deigns  to  bestow  on  me,  by  witnessing  my 
performance." 

"  Your  son's  second-sight  is  said  to  be  very  surprising," 
the  king  continued :  "  but  I  warn  you,  Monsieur  Robert- 
Houdin,  to  be  on  your  guard,  for  we  intend  to  cause  you 
considerable  difficulties." 

"  Sire,"  I  replied,  boldly,  "I  have  every  reason  for  be- 
lieving that  my  son  will  surmount  them. 

"I  should  be  vexed  were  it  otherwise,"  the  king  said, 
with  a  tinge  of  incredulity,  as  he  retired.  "Monsieur 
Robert-Houdin,"  he  added,  as  he  closed  the  door  after 
him,  "  I  shall  feel  obliged  by  your  punctuality." 


A  ROYAL  AUDIENCE.  305 

At  four  o'clock  precisely,  when  the  royal  family  and 
the  numerous  guests  were  assembled,  the  curtains  that 
concealed  me  opened,  and  I  appeared  on  the  stage.  Owing 
to  my  repeated  performances,  I  had  fortunately  acquired 
an  imperturbable  assurance  and  a  confidence  in  myself 
which  the  success  of  my  experiments  fully  justified. 

I  began  in  the  most  profoi^d  silence,  for  the  party 
evidently  wished  to  see  and  judge  before  giving  me  any 
encouragement.  But,  insensibly,  they  became  excited, 
and  I  heard  several  exclamations  of  surprise,  which  were 
soou  followed  by  still  more  expre'ssive  demonstrations. 

All  my  tricks  were  very  favorably  received,  and  the 
one  I  had  invented  for  the  occasion  gained  me  unbounded 
applause. 

I  will  give  a  description  of  it : 

I  borrowed  from  my  noble  spectators  several  handker- 
chiefs, which  I  made  into  a  parcel,  and  laid  on  the  table. 
Then,  at  my  request,  different  persons  wrote  on  the  cards 
the  names  of  places  whither  they  desired  their  handkerchiefs 
to  be  invisibly  transported. 

When  this  had  been  done,  I  begged  the  king  to  take 
three  of  the  cards  at  hazard,  and  choose  from  them  the 
place  he  might  consider  most  suitable. 

"  Let  us  see,"  Louis  Philippe  said,  "what  this  one  says : 
*  I  desire  the  handkerchiefs  to  be  found  beneath  one  of  the 
candelabra  on  the  mantelpiece.'  That  is  too  easy  for  a 
sorcerer ;  so  we  will  pass  to  the  next  card :  '  The  hand- 
kerchiefs are  to  be  transported  to  the  dome  of  the  Inva- 
lides.'  That  would  suit  me,  but  it  is  much  too  far,  not  for 
the  handkerchiefs,  but  for  us.  Ah,  ah !"  the  king  added, 
looking  at  the  last  card,  "  I  am  afraid,  Monsieur  Robert- 
Houdin,  I  am  about  to  embarrass  yon.  Do  you  know 
•what  this  card  proposes?" 

U 


306  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

"Will  your  majesty  deign  to  inform  me  ?" 

"  It  is  desired  that  you  should  send  the  handkerchiefs 
into  the  chest  of  the  last  orange-tree  on  the  right  of  the 
avenue." 

"  Only  that,  sire  ?     Deign  to  order,  and  I  will  obey." 

"  Very  good,  then ;  I  should  like  too  see  such  a  magic 
act:  I,  therefore,  choose  the  orange-tree  chest." 

The  king  gave  some  orders  in  a  low  voice,  and  I  directly 
saw  several  persons  run  to  the  orange-tree,  in  order  to 
watch  it  and  prevent  any  fraud. 

I  was  delighted  at  this  precaution,  which  must  add  to 
the  effect  of  my  experiment,  for  the  trick  was  already 
arranged,  and  the  precaution  hence  too  late. 

J  had  now  to  send  the  handkerchiefs  on  their  travels,  so 
I  placed  them  beneath  a  bell  of  opaque  glass,  and,  taking ' 
my  wand,  I  ordered  my  invisible  travellers  to  proceed  to 
the  spot  the  king  had  chosen. 

I  raised  the  bell ;  the  little  parcel  was  no  longer  there, 
and  a  white  turtle-dove  had  taken  its  place. 

The  king  then  walked  quickly  to  the  door,  whence  he 
looked  in  the  direction  of  the  orange-tree,  to  assure  him- 
self that  the  guards  were  at  their  post ;  when  this  was 
done,  he  began  to  smile  and  shrug  his  shoulders. 

"Ah!  Monsieur  Robert-Houdin,"  he  said,  somewhat 
ironically,  "I  much  fear  for  the  virtue  of  your  magic  staff." 
Then  he  added,  as  he  returned  to  the  end  of  the  room, 
where  several  servants  were  standing,  "  Tell  William  to 
open  immediately  the  last  chest  at  the  end  of  the  avenue, 
and  bring  me  carefully  what  he  finds  there  —  if  he  does 
find  anything." 

William  soon  proceeded  to  the  orange-tree,  and  though 
much  astonished  at  the  orders  given  him,  he  began  to 
carry  them  out. 


CAGLIOSTRO'S  CASKET.  307 

He  carefully  removed  one  of  the  sides  of  the  chest, 
thrust  his  hand  in,  and  almost  touched  the  roots  of  the 
tree  before  he  found  anything.  All  at  once  he  uttered  a 
cry  of  surprise,  as  he  drew  out  a  small  iron  coffer  eaten  by 
rust. 

This  curious  "  find,"  after  having  been  cleaned  from  the 
mould,  was  brought  in  and  placed  on  a  small  ottoman  by 
the  king's  side. 

"Well,  Monsieur  Robert-Houdin,"  Louis  Philippe  said 
to  me,  with  a  movement  of  impatient  curiosity,  "  here  is  a 
box ;  am  I  to  conclude  it  contains  the  handkerchiefs?" 

"*Yes,  sire,"  I  replied,  with  assurance,  "and  they  have 
been  there,  too,  for  a  long  period." 

"  How  can  that  be  ?  the  handkerchiefs  were  lent  you 
scarce  a  quarter  of  an  hour  ago." 

"  I  cannot  deny  it,  sire ;  but  what  would  my  magic 
powers  avail  me  if  I  could  not  perform  incomprehensible 
tricks  ?  Your  majesty  will  doubtlessly  be  still  more  sur- 
prised, when  I  prove  to  your  satisfaction  that  this  coffer, 
as  well  as  its  contents,  was  deposited  in  the  chest  of  the 
orange-tree  sixty  years  ago." 

"I  should  like  to  believe  your  statement,"  the  king  re- 
plied, with  a  smile  ;  "  but  that  is  impossible,  and  I  must, 
therefore,,  ask  for  proofs  of  your  assertion." 

"  If  your  majesty  will  be  kind  enough  to  open  this  cas- 
ket they  will  be  supplied." 

"  Certainly;  but  I  shall  require  a  key  for  that." 

"  It  only  depends  on  yourself,  sire,  to  have  one.  Deign 
to  remove  it  from  the  neck  of  this  turtle-dove,  which  has 
just  brought  it  you." 

Louis  Philippe  unfastened  a  ribbon  that  held  a  small 
rusty  key,  with  which  he  hastened  to  unlock  the  coffer. 

The  first  thing  that  caught  the  king's  eye  was  a  parch- 
ment, on  which  he  read  the  following  statement : 


308  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

THIS  DAY,  THE  6TH  JUNE,  1786, 

THIS  IRON  BOX,  CONTAINING  SIX  HANDKERCHIEFS,  WAS 
PLACED  AMONG  THE  ROOTS  OF  AN  ORANGE-TREE  BY  ME, 
BALSAMO,  COUNT  OF  CAGLIOSTRO,  TO  SERVE  IN  PERFORM- 
ING AN  ACT  OF  MAGIC,  WHICH  WILL  BE  EXECUTED  ON  THE 

SAME  DAY  SIXTY  YEARS  HENCE  BEFORE  LOUIS  PHILIPPE 
OF  ORLEANS  AND  HIS  FAMILY. 

"There  is  decidedly  witchcraft  about  this,"  the  king 
said,  more  and  more  amazed.  "  Nothing  is  wanting,  for 
the  seal  and  signature  of  the  celebrated  sorcerer  are 
placed  at  the  foot  of  this  statement,  which,  Heaven  pardon 
me,  smells  strongly  of  sulphur." 

At  this  jest,  the  audience  began  to  laugh. 

"But,"  the  king  added,  taking  out  of  the  box  a  care- 
fully sealed  packet,  "  can  the  handkerchiefs  by  possibility 
be  in  this?" 

"  Indeed,  sire,  they  are  ;  but,  before  opening  the  parcel, 
I  would  request  your  majesty  to  notice  that  it  also  bears 
the  impression  of  Cagliostro's  seal." 

This  seal  once  rendered  so  famous  by  being  placed  on 
the  celebrated  alchemist's  bottles  of  elixir  and  liquid  gold, 
I  had  obtained  from  Torrini,  who  had  been  an  old  friend 
of  Cagliostro's. 

"  It  is  certainly  the  same,"  my  royal  spectator  answered, 
after  comparing  the  two  seals.  Still,  in  his  impatience  to 
learn  the  contents  of  the  parcel,  the  king  quickly  tore 
open  the  envelope,  and  soon  displayed  before  the  aston- 
ished spectators  the  six  handkerchiefs  which,  a  few  mo- 
ments before,  were  still  on  my  table. 

This  trick  gained  me  lively  applause,  but  in  my  second 
sight,  which  was  to  terminate  the  performance,  I  had 
really  to  sustain  a  terrible  struggle,  as  the  king  had 
warned  me. 


SECOND  SIGHT.  309 

Among  the  objects  handed  me,  there  was,  I  remember, 
a  medal,  which  it  was  expected  would  embarrass  me.  Still, 
I  had  no  sooner  taken  it  in  my  hand  than  my  son  de- 
scribed it  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  It  is,"  he  said,  confidently,  "  a  Greek  medal  of  bronze, 
on  which  is  a  word  composed  of  six  letters,  which  I  will 
spell :  lamba,  epsilon,  mu,  nu,  omicron,  sigma,  which 
makes  Lemnos." 

My  son  knew  the  Greek  alphabet ;  hence,  he  could  read 
the  word  Lemnos,  although  he  could  not  possibly  have 
translated  it. 

This  was  in  itself  a  severe  trial  for  so  young  a  lad ;  but 
it  did  not  satisfy  the  royal  family. 

I  was  handed  a  small  Chinese  coin  with  a  hole  through 
the  centre,  and  its  name  and  value  were  immediately  indi- 
cated ;  and,  lastly,  a  difficulty,  from  which  I  managed  to 
escape  successfully,  was  the  brilliant  finale  of  my  per- 
formance. 

I  had  been  surprised  to  see  the  Duchess  of  Orleans,  who 
took  a  lively  interest  in  the  second  sight,  retire  to  her 
apartments ;  but  she  soon  returned,  and  handed  me  a 
small  case,  the  contents  of  which  she  wished  my  son  to 
describe,  but  I  must  be  careful  not  to  open  it. 

I  had  foreseen  this  prohibition ;  so,  while  the  princess 
was  speaking  to  me,  I  opened  the  case  with  one  hand,  and, 
by  a  rapid  glance,  satisfied  myself  as  to  its  contents.  Still, 
I  pretended  for  a  moment  to  be  startled  by  the  proposal, 
in  order  to  produce  a  greater  effect. 

"Your  highness,"  I  remarked,  as  I  returned  the  case, 
"  will  allow  me  to  appeal  against  such  a  proposal,  for  you 
must  have  remarked  that,  until  now,  I  required  to  see  the 
object  before  my  son  could  name  it." 

"Yet  you  have  surmounted  greater  difficulties,"  the 


310  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

amiable  duchess  retorted.  "  However,  if  it  is  not  possible, 
let  us  say  no  more  about  it,  for  I  should  be  grieved  to 
cause  you  any  embarrassment." 

"  What  your  highness  wishes  is,  I  repeat,  impossible ; 
and  yet  my  son,  feeling  anxious  to  justify  the  confidence 
you  place  in  his  clairvoyance,  will  attempt  to  see  through 
the  case,  and  describe  its  contents. . 

"  Can  he  do  so  even  through  my  hands?"  the  duchess 
continued,  trying  to  conceal  the  case. 

"  Yes,  madam,  and  even  if  your  highness  were  in  the 
next  room,  my  sou  would  be  able  to  see  it." 

The  duchess,  declining  the  new  trial  I  proposed,  satisfied 
herself  by  questioning  my  son  with  her  own  lips. 

The  boy,  who  had  long  received  his  instructions,  replied, 
without  hesitation,  "  There  is  in  the  case  a  diamond  pin, 
the  stone  being  surrounded  by  a  garter  of  sky-blue 
enamel." 

"That  is  perfectly  correct,"  the  duchess  said,  as  she 
showed  the  ornament  to  the  king.  "  Judge  for  yourself, 
sire;"  then,  turning  to  me,  she  added,  with  infinite  grace, 
"  Monsieur  Robert-Houdin,  will  you  accept  this  pin  in  re- 
membrance of  your  visit  to  St.  Cloud?" 

I  thanked  her  highness  sincerely,  as  I  assured  her  of 
my  gratitude. 

The  performance  was  over :  the  curtain  fell,  and,  in  my 
turn,  I  was  enabled  to  enjoy  a  curious  scene  at  my  ease ; 
it  was  to  look  through  a  small  hole  at  my  audience,  who 
had  assembled  in  groups,  and  were  talking  about  the  im- 
pression I  had  produced. 

Before  leaving  the  chateau,  the  king  and  queen  again 
sent  me  the  most  flattering  messages  by  the  person  charged 
to  hand  me  a  souvenir  of  their  munificence. 

This  representation  could  not  increase  my  reputation  — 


OPEN-AIR  STUDIES.  311 

that  was  not  possible  —  but  it  helped  powerfully  to  main- 
tain it.  My  performance  at  St.  Cloud,  more  especially, 
created  a  sensation  among  the  aristocracy,  who,  until  that 
moment,  had  hesitated  about  visiting  my  small  room. 
Their  curiosity  overcame  other  considerations,  and  they 
came  in  their  turn  to  assure  themselves  of  the  reality  of 
the  marvels  attributed  to  me. 

The  summer  heats  were,  however,  beginning  to  be  felt: 
we  had  reached  the  commencement  of  July,  and  I  had  to 
think  about  closing  my  theatre.  However,  instead  of 
running  after  fortune,  as  in  the  previous  year,  I  occupied 
myself  with  changing  and  improving  my  performance. 
The  task  was  heavy ;  for  I  was  filled  with  bold  emulation, 
as  I  could  not  conceal  from  myself  that  my  success  im- 
posed certain  duties  on  me,  and  that,  in  order  to  keep  it 
up,  I  must  be  constantly  deserving  of  it. 

The  most  painful  part  of  my  inquiries  was,  that  my  in- 
ventions must  be  completed  by  a  certain  day  and  hour, 
for  the  reopening  of  my  theatre  was  fixed  for  the  first  of 
the  next  September,  and,  for  many  reasons,  I  determined 
on  being  punctual. 

For  two  months  I  worked  with  great  ardor,  granting 
myself  no  rest  or  pleasure.  Sometimes,  however,  after 
dinner  on  Sunday,  I  allowed  myself  a  recreation  which 
may  seem  strange  to  many  of  my  readers :  I  went  to  the 
fairs  round  Paris,  and  studied  the  mountebanks.  There  I 
amused  myself,  I  may  say,  as  much  as  any  of  the  specta- 
tors around  me ;  though  the  pleasure  I  felt  was  not  of  the 
same  nature  as  that  of  my  neighbors.  I  amused  myself 
by  seeing  their  amusement,  and  nothing  more;  for  any 
one  who  has  seen  this  style  of  spectacle  must  have  noticed 
that  the  mountebank  gives  his  public  very  little  for  their 
money.  The  best  part  of  the  sight  is  often  seen  outside. 


312  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

New  Experiments — Aerial  Suspension,  &c. — A  Performance  at  the 
Ode"on — A  Friend  in  Need — 1848  —  The  Theatre  deserted — I  leave 
Paris  for  London — Manager  Mitchell — Publicity  in  England  —  The 
Great  Wizard — A  Butter-mould  used  as  a  Puff — Singular  Bills — A 
Prize  for  the  best  Pun. 

INSTEAD  of  being  able  to  recommence  my  performances 
on  the  1st  of  September,  as  I  had  hoped,  my  compulsory 
holidays,  which  might  be  called  my  "penal  servitude," 
were  prolonged  another  month,  and  it  was  not  till  the  1st 
of  October  that  I  was  prepared  to  offer  my  new  experi- 
ments to  the  public. 

My  pecuniary  interests  were  much  affected  by  this  de- 
lay, but  I  trusted,  correctly  enough,  to  the  zeal  of  the 
public  to  visit  me,  as  a  compensation. 

My  new  repertory  contained  the  Crystal  Box,  the  Fan- 
tastic Portfolio,  the  Trepeze  Tumbler,  the  G-arde  Francaise, 
the  Origin  of  Flowers,  the  Crystal  Balls,  the  Inexhaustible 
Bottle,  the  Ethereal  Suspension,  &c. 

I  had  devoted  especial  care  to  the  last  experiment,  on 
which  I  built  great  hopes.  Surgery  had  supplied  me  with 
the  first  idea  of  it. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  1847  the  insensibility  pro- 
duced by  inhaling  ether  began  to  be  applied  in  surgical 
operations;  all  the  world  talked  about  the  marvellous 


ETHEREAL  SUSPENSION.  313 

effect  of  this  anaesthetic,  and  its  extraordinary  results.    In 
the  eyes  of  many  people  it  seemed  much  akin  to  magic. 

Seeing  that  the  surgeons  had  invaded  my  domain,  I 
asked  myself  if  this  did  not  allow  me  to  make  reprisals. 
I  did  so  by  inventing  my  ethereal  suspension,  which,  I  be- 
lieve, was  far  more  surprising  than  any  result  obtained  by 
my  surgical  brethren. 

The  subject  I  intended  to  operate  on  was  my  younger 
son,  and  I  could  not  have  selected  one  better  suited  for 
the  experiment.  He  was  a  stout  lad  of  about  six  years 
of  age,  and  his  plump  and  rosy  face  was  the  picture  of 
health.  In  spite  of  his  youth,  he  displayed  the  greatest 
intelligence  in  learning  his  part,  and  played  it  with  such 
perfection,  that  the  most  incredulous  were  duped. 

This  trick  was  very  much  applauded,  and  I  am  bound 
to  say  that  my  arrangements  were  excellently  made :  this 
was  the  first  time  I  tried  to  direct  the  surprise  of  my  spec- 
tators by  gradually  heightening  it  up  to  the  moment  when, 
so  to  speak,  it  exploded. 

I  divided  my  experiment  into  three  parts,  each  more 
surprising  than  the  former. 

Thus,  when  I  removed  the  stool  from  beneath  the  child's 
feet,  the  public,  who  had  smiled  during  the  preparations 
for  the  suspension,  became  thoughtful. 

When  I  next  removed  one  of  the  canes,  exclamations 
of  surprise  and  fear  were  heard. 

Lastly,  at  the  moment  when  I  raised  my  son  to  an  hori 
zontal  position,  the  spectators,  at  this  unexpected  resultj 
crowned  the  experiment  with  hearty  applause. 

Still,  it  sometimes  happened  that  sensitive  persons,  re- 
garding the  etherization  too  seriously,  protested  in  their 
hearts  against  the  applause,  and  wrote  me  letters  in  which 
they  severely  upbraided  the  unnatural  father  who  sacri- 


314  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

ficed  the  health  of  his  poor  child  to  the  pleasures  of  the 
public.  Some  went  so  far  as  to  threaten  me  with  the  terrors 
of  the  law  if  I  did  not  give  up  my  inhuman  performance. 

The  anonymous  writers  of  such  accusations  did  not  sus- 
pect the  pleasure  they  caused  me.  After  amusing  the 
family  circle,  I  kept  the  letters  preciously  as  proofs  of  the 
illusion  I  had  produced. 

The  fashion  this  performance  raised  could  not  surpass 
that  of  the  previous  year :  I  could  not  expect  any  other 
result  than  filling  my  theatre,  and  that  occurred  every 
evening. 

The  royal  family  also  wished  to  see  my  new  experi- 
ments; and  for  this  purpose  the  whole  room  was  taken 
for  the  afternoon,  so  that  my  evening  performances  were 
not  interrupted. 

This  performance,  which  the  Queen  of  the  Belgians  wit- 
nessed with  her  family,  was  only  so  far  peculiar,  that  my 
little  room  was  filled  with  exalted  personages.  All  the 
seats  were  occupied,  for  their  majesties  were  accompanied 
by  their  respective  courts,  and  a  great  number  of  ambas- 
sadors and  royal  dignitaries. 

As  I  had  reason  to  hope,  my  noble  spectators  were  sat- 
isfied, and  deigned  to  thank  me  in  person. 

In  the  midst  of  this  gentle  satisfaction,  I  had  every  rea- 
son to  believe  that  I  possessed  the  favor  of  the  public ;  I 
learned,  though,  at  a  heavy  penalty,  that  even  if  the  favor 
of  that  sovereign  may  appear  secured,  a  trifle  will  cause  it 
almost  to  expire. 

On  the  18th  of  February,  1848,  Madame  Dorval  took 
her  benefit  at  the  Ode"on,  and  I  promised  that  eminent 
actress  to  perform  some  of  my  tricks  as  an  interlude. 

I  was  punctual  to  my  appointment  across  the  water ; 


A  SAD  ACCIDENT.  315 

half-past  eleven  struck,  when  the  curtain  fell  just  prior  to 
my  performance.  As  I  had  been  ready  to  begin  for  some 
time,  ten  minutes  were  sufficient  to  give  a  final  glance  to 
my  preparations. 

My  first  care,  on  taking  possession  of  the  stage,  had 
been  to  conceal  my  operations  from  indiscreet  eyes ;  hence, 
I  had  dismissed  everybody.  Unfortunately,  I  had  not 
even  made  an  exception  in  favor  of  the  stage-manager, 
and  the  sorrowful  effects  of  this  measure  will  now  be  seen. 

In  most  excellent  humor,  I  ordered  my  servant  to  give 
the  three  usual  taps,  and  the  orchestra  began  playing 
while  I  walked  to  the  side-scene,  prior  to  making  my  ap- 
pearance. But  at  the  moment  the  curtain  rose,  I  remem- 
bered I  had  forgotten  one  of  my  "accessories,"  and  I  ran 
to  my  dressing-room  to  fetch  it.  Unfortunately,  in  my 
hurry,  I  did  not  notice  that  the  machinist  had  inadver- 
tently left  a  small  trap  open,  and  my  leg  slipped  into  it 
up  to  the  knee. 

The  pain  drew  from  me  a  sharp  cry  of  distress ;  my  ser- 
vant ran  up,  and  he  could  only  release  me  with  some  diffi- 
culty. But  I  was  in  a  sad  state,  for  my  trouser  was  torn 
completely  up,  exposing  my  bleeding  and  lacerated  leg. 

In  this  unhappy  condition,  I  could  not  possibly  return 
to  the  stage ;  hence  I  looked  around  in  search  of  some  one 
to  announce  to  the  public  the  accident  that  had  happened 
to  me,  but  I  could  only  see  two  firemen.  They  would  not 
do  for  so  delicate  a  mission,  and  although  I  had  my  ser- 
vant, this  worthy  lad  was  a  negro  with  woolly  head,  blub- 
ber lips,  and  an  ebony  skin,  whose  simple  language  would 
not  have  failed  to  raise  a  laugh  at  my  painful  position. 

The  stage-manager  alone  could  undertake  the  mission ; 
but  where  should  I  find  him? 

These  reflections,  prompt  as  lightning,  were  interrupted 


316  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

by  the  commencement  of  a  storm  in  the  theatre ;  the  pub- 
lic summoned  me,  for  it  must  be  remembered  the  curtain 
had  risen,  and  in  the  eyes  of  the  public  I  had  missed  my 
entrance;  this  was  disrespect,  and,  therefore,  unpardon- 
able! 

My  negro,  without  caring  for  what  was  passing  else- 
where, tore  up  his  handkerchief  and  mine,  and  bound  my 
wound  with  considerable  skill.  This  did  not  prevent  me 
suffering  severe  pain,  but  I  soon  experienced  a  torture  a 
thousand-fold  greater  when  I  heard  a  violent  storm  burst 
out  in  the  house.  The  public,  who  had  begun  by  stamp- 
ing, were  now  hissing,  shouting,  and  yelling  in  all  the  dis- 
cordant tones  of  dissatisfaction. 

Overcoming  my  pain,  I  changed  my  trousers  in  haste, 
and  decided  on  going  myself  to  describe  my  accident.  I 
therefore  walked  slowly  to  the  door  of  the  stage,  and  I 
was  just  going  to  open  it,  when  a  frightful  noise  turned 
me  cold  with  terror,  and  checked  me.  My  heart  failed 
me.  Still,  I  put  a  stop  to  this.  "  Courage,"  I  said  to 
myself,  with  a  supreme  effort  —  "courage!"  and  straight- 
way throwing  open  the  folding  doors,  I  walked  on  the 
stage. 

I  shall  never  forget  my  reception.  On  one  hand,  cries, 
hisses,  yells;  on  the  other,  clapping  of  hands  and  ap- 
plause, enough  to  wake  the  dead.  The  two  parties  were 
apparently  attempting  to  conquer  each  other  in  making  a 
noise. 

Pale  and  trembling  at  such  a  rough  reception,  I  waited 
patiently  for  a  moment  when  the  combatants,  wearied  with 
the  contest,  would  allow  me  to  explain  my  delay.  This 
moment  at  length  arrived,  and  I  was  enabled  to  describe 
my  painful  adventure.  My  paleness  testified  to  the  truth 
of  my  words.  The  public  allowed  themselves  to  be  dis- 


A  POWERFUL  PROTECTOR.  .  317 

armed,  and  hisses  were  no  longer  mingled  with  the  ap- 
plause which  greeted  my  explanation. 

Any  one  who  knows  the*relief  and  comfort  bravos  and 
hearty  applause  arouse  in  the  heart  of  an  actor,  will  un- 
derstand the  sudden  change  they  produced  in  me.  The 
blood  rushed  to  my  cheeks  and  restored  my  color,  my 
strength  returned,  and,  possessed  by  fresh  energy,  I  stated 
to  the  public  that  I  found  myself  so  much  recovered  that 
I  would  go  on  with  my  performance.  I  did  so ;  and  such 
was  the  power  of  my  excitement,  that  I  scarce  felt  the 
pain  produced  by  my  wound. 

I  have  said  that,  on  my  appearance,  I  was  saluted  by 
demonstrations  of  a  very  different  nature.  Although  many 
of  my  spectators  hissed,  others  applauded  me.  Truth  ex- 
torts a  confession  from  me.  I  was  supported  on  this  even- 
ing by  an  omnipotent  protector. 

This  requires  an  explanation.  Hence,  that  my  readers 
may  solve  the  enigma,  I  am  obliged  to  narrate  a  slight 
anecdote : 

At  the  period  when  I  invented  my  experiment  of  second 
sight,  several  Parisian  managers  proposed  to  me  to  per- 
form, as  an  interlude,  in  their  theatres,  but  I  had  refused, 
because,  as  I  was  tired  by  my  own  performances,  I  did  not 
wish  to  prolong  them.  My  determination  on  this  point 
was  quite  formed,  when  I  received  a  visit  from  an  actress 

of  the  Palais  Royal,  Madame  M ,  who  performed  the 

part  of  duennas. 

"  I  have  not  the  honor  of  your  acquaintance,  sir,"  she 
said,  with  a  certain  degree  of  hesitation,  "  hence  I  am  al- 
most afraid  to  ask  you  to  render  me  a  great  service. 
These  are  the  circumstances  of  the  case:  our  excellent 
manager,  Dormeuil,  has  offered  me  a  benefit,  the  profits 
of  which  are  intended  to  release  my  son  from  the  conscrip- 


318  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUD1N. 

tion.  It  only  depends  on  you,  sir,  to  ensure  the  success 
of  the  performance  by  giving  me  your  assistance."  And 
the  poor  mother,  deriving  her  eloquence  from  her  love  for 
her  son,  painted  in  such  lively  colors  the  distress  she  would 
feel  from  a  failure,  that,  touched  by  her  grief,  I  rescinded 
my  determination,  and  consented  to  add  my  performance 
of  the  "second  sight"  to  her  bill. 

I  dare  not  form  the  flattering  idea  that  my  name  had 
any  share  in  the  success  of  the  performance;  still,  the 
house  was  crowded,  and  the  receipts  more  than  covered 
the  price  of  a  substitute. 

The  next  day  the  happy  mother  called  to  tell  me  of  her 
good  fortune,  and  thank  me.  She  was  accompanied  by  a 
gentleman  I  did  not  know,  but  who,  so  soon  as  Madame 

M had  ceased  speaking,  told  me  in  his  turn  the  object 

of  his  visit. 

"  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  accompanying  Madame 

M to  compliment  you  on  what  you  have  done  for  her. 

It  is  a  good  action,  for  which  all  her  theatrical  friends  owe 
you  abundant  thanks ;  and,  for  my  part,  I  hope,  sooner  or 
later,  to  evidence  my  gratitude  in  my  own  way." 

While  flattered  at  my  visitor's  remarks,  I  was  much 
puzzled  as  to  the  sense  of  his  last  sentence.  He  noticed 
it,  and,  giving  me  no  time  to  reply,  continued : 

"  Ah !  I  forgot  to  tell  you  who  I  am,  and  I  ought  to 
have  begun  with  that.  My  name  is  Duhart,  and  I  manage 
theatrical  successes  at  the  Palais  Royal.  By  the  way," 
he  added,  "  were  you  satisfied  with  the  reception  you  had 
last  night?" 

This  confession,  I  grant,  robbed  me  of  a  sweet  illusion. 
I  had  fancied  I  owed  my  reception  to  my  own  merits,  and 
I  now  could  not  guess  what  share  of  the  applause  legiti- 
mately belonged  to  me.  Still,  I  thanked  M.  Duhart  for 


HIRED  APPLAUSE.  319 

his  kindness,  both  past  and  to  come.  Three  months  later, 
I  had  almost  forgotten  this  incident,  when  one  day,  as  I 
was  going  to  give  a  performance  at  the  Porte  Saint-Martin, 
my  friend  Duhart  called  on  me. 

"  Only  one  word,  Monsieur  Houdin,"  he  said,  without 
taking  the  trouble  to  sit  down.  "  I  read  in  the  bills  that 
you  are  going  to  perform  for  Raucourt's  benefit,  and  I 

have  recommended  you  to  P ,  who  will  'take  care  of 

you.' ' 

"I  was  in  fact,  "taken  care  of,"  for  when  I  appeared 
on  the  stage,  I  was  greeted  by  a  reception  worthy  of  the 
highest  artistic  celebrities.  It  was  easy  to  recognize  an 
ovation  warmly  recommended,  but  I  was  glad  to  notice 
that  the  public  "followed  suit,"  and  that  the  bravos 
emanating  from  the  pit  radiated  through  the  whole  honse. 

A  few  months  later,  when  about  to  perform  at  the 
Gymnase,  came  another  visit  from  Duhart,  the  same  re- 
commendation to  his  comrade,  and  a  similar  result.  In 
short,  I  rarely  quitted  my  own  stage  but  my  grateful  pro- 
tector interested  himself  in  my  success. 

I  am  forced  to  say  that  I  let  him  do  so,  and  saw  no 
harm  in  it ;  far  from  that,  these  encouragements  were  a 
stimulant  for  me,  and  I  always  redoubled  my  efforts  to 
deserve  them. 

I  have  taken  a  pride  in  relating  this  incident,  for  it 
admirably  depicts  the  character  of  a  man  capable  of  being 
so  long  grateful  for  a  slight  service  rendered  to  a  friend. 
However,  the  performance  at  the  Ode'on  was  the  last  in 
which  the  worthy  Duhart  went  out  of  his  way  for  me,  as 
the  revolution  of  February  arrived  a  few  days  later. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  this  event  was  an  utter 
"  smasher  "  for  all  the  theatres. 

After  exhausting  all  the  attractive  baits  of  their  reper- 


320  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

tory,  the  managers,  finding  all  their  attractions  fail,  vainly 
formed  a  congress  to  relieve  them  from  such  a  disastrous 
situation. 

I  was  invited  to  the  meeting,  but,  though  I  put  in  an 
appearance,  it  was  merely  through  politeness,  as  I  was  in 
a  position  very  different  from  that  of  my  brethren. 

This  position  depended  simply  on  the  fact  that  my 
establishment,  instead  of  having  the  name  of  a  theatre, 
was  called  a  "spectacle."  Through  this  slight  difference 
of  title  I  enjoyed  rights  infinitely  more  extended. 

Thus,  while  the  theatres  could  only  have  bills  of  a  size 
arranged  by  a  police  decree,  I  was  at  liberty,  as  the  mana- 
ger of  a  spectacle,  to  announce  my  performances  in  un- 
bounded proportions. 

I  could  also  lessen  or  increase  the  number  of  my  per- 
formances at  my  pleasure,  which  was  not  one  of  the 
slightest  advantages  of  my  management. 

Lastly,  I  had  a  right,  whenever  I  thought  proper,  to 
put  the  key  of  my  room  in  my  pocket,  dismiss  my  staff, 
and  walk  about  at  my  leisure  in  expectation  of  better 
times. 

All  these  advantages,  to  which  I  will  add  that  of  being 
burdened^with  very  slight  expenses  compared  with  my 
brethren,  offered  me  no  other  result  than  that  of  not  losing 
my  money.  However  I  might  try,  the  public  remained 
deaf  to  my  appeal  as  to  theirs. 

I  am  mistaken  though ;  for  some  days  I  received  very 
polite  letters  from  the  Provisional  Government,  in  the 
shape  of  "  free  passes,"  which  begged  me  to  find  room  in 
my  hall  for  the  students  of  the  Polytechnic  and  St.  Cyr 
schools,  accompanied  by  their  tutors. 

I  was  enchanted,  it  is  true,  by  this  amiable  act  of  po- 
liteness, which  augmented  the  number  of  my  scanty  spec- 


FREE  ADMISSIONS.  821 

tators ;  for  I  performed,  at  least,  before  a  well-filled  room, 
and  I  had  no  longer  the  annoyance  of  seeing  those  unlucky 
benches  empty  —  a  sight  which  usually  paralyzes  the  most 
philosophic  performers. 

This  illusion  was,  in  truth,  very  ephemeral,  for  each 
evening,  after  the  performance,  my  cashier  assumed  a  very 
gloomy  face  on  approaching  me. 

What  disenchantment !  What  bitter  reprisals  on  the 
part  of  the  blind  goddess  who,  for  some  time,  had  granted 
me  such  sweet  favors  ! 

Still,  in  these  moments  of  distress,  I  may  say  with  per- 
fect sincerity  deceptions  and  torment  were  not  confined  to 
the  profit  and  loss  account ;  and  though  a  manager  does 
not  take  money,  he  desires  to  conceal  his  misery.  Jn 
order  to  produce  a  deception,  he  tries  to  furnish  his  thea- 
tre, and  he  gives  free  admissions.  I  had  recourse  to  this 
measure ;  but,  what  will  appear  strange,  these  tickets, 
which,  a  month  earlier,  would  have  been  regarded  as  an 
immense  favor,  were  viewed  with  considerable  indifference, 
and  it  often  happened  that  people  did  not  take  the  trouble 
to  accept  my  invitation. 

Having  become  a  philosopher  through  necessity,  I  ended 
by  resigning  myself  to  seeing  my  room  nearly  empty,  and 
I  sent  out  no  more  invitations.  Besides,  I  had  enjoyed 
an  opportunity  of  studying  the  "free  admissions,"  and  I 
had  remarked  that  this  class  of  spectators  is,  or  pretends 
to  be,  quite  indifferent  to  the  performance.  In  fact,  the 
"free  admission,"  when  he  believes  the  theatre  short  of 
spectators,  imagines  he  is  doing  an  act  of  kindness  by 
accepting  the  invitation  offered  him.  If  he  find  the  house 
full,  he  fancies  all  the  places  are  occupied  by  gratis  tickets 
(and  he  is  sometimes  correct),  and  he  concludes  from  it 
that  the  performance  cannot  be  very  amusing.  If  he 

V 


322  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

happen  to  be  mistaken,  lie  does  not  applaud,  in  his  fear  of 
being  taken  for  a  gratuitous  visitor,  and  pass  for  an  ac- 
complice paying  for  his  seat  in  applause. 

I  was  in  the  thick  of  my  managerial  troubles  when,  one 
morning,  I  received  a  visit  from  the  manager  of  the 
French  theatre  in  London.,  Mitchell  (that  is  his  name), 
far  from  seeking  to  delude  me  by  false  promises,  like  my 
Brussels  theatrical  agent,  merely  made  me  the  following 
simple  proposal : 

"Monsieur  Robert- Houdin,"  he  said  to  me,  "you  are 
well  known  in  London ;  come  and  perform  at  the  St. 
James'  Theatre,  and  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  you 
will  be  successful.  Besides,  we  shall  be  equally  interested, 
for  we  will  share  the  gross  receipts,  and  I  will  pay  all  the 
expenses.  You  will  perform  alternately  with  my  Ope'ra 
Comique,  that  is  to  say,  on  Tuesdays,  Thursdays  and  Sat- 
urdays, and  you  will  begin,  if  you  please,  on  the  7th  of 
May  next,  or  a  month  from  to-day." 

These  conditions  appearing  to  me  very  acceptable,  I 
may  add,  most  advantageous,  I  agreed  to  them  most 
readily.  Mitchell,  then,  offered  me  his  hand,  I  gave  him 
mine,  and  this  friendly  sanction  was  the  only  agreement 
we  made  for  this  important  affair.  Though  there  was  no 
forfeit  on  either  side,  no  arrangement  or  signature,  never 
was  a  bargain  better  cemented. 

From  that  time,  during  all  my  long  connection  with 
Mitchell,  I  had  many  occasions  of  appreciating  all  the 
value  of  his  word.  I  may  say  loudly  that  he  is  one  of  the 
most  conscientious  managers  I  ever  had  dealings  with.  In 
addition,  Mitchell  adds  an  extreme  affability,  and  a  remark- 
able degree  of  generosity  and  disinterestedness  to  the 
merit  of  keeping  his  word.  Under  all  circumstances,  he 
will  be  found  to  act  as  a  perfect  gentleman,  and  one  of  the 


MR.  MITCHELL.  323 

most  brilliant  qualities  he  possesses  as  manager,  is  his 
courteous  behavior  to  his  performers.  The  following  in- 
stance will  serve  as  a  proof: 

Jenny  Lind  was  singing  at  Her  Majesty's  Theatre  on 
the  same  evenings  I  performed  at  St.  James's,  so  that, 
despite  all  the  wish  I  felt  to  go  and  hear  her,  I  could  not 
make  up  my  mind  to  sacrifice  a  performance  for  this  at- 
tractive pleasure.  However,  in  consequence  of  a  circum- 
stance too  lengthy  to  detail  here,  I  happened  to  find  my- 
self free  on  one  of  the  nights  when  Jenny  Lind  sang.  I 
must  add  that,  besides  managing  the  St.  James's  Theatre, 
Mitchell  had  hired  a  certain  number  of  boxes  at  Her 
Majesty's  by  the  year,  and,  according  to  the  English  cus- 
tom, let  them  out  to  the  highest  bidders.  It  happened  at 
times  that  all  the  tickets  were  not  sold,  and  in  that  case 
Mitchell  gave  them  to  a  few  privileged  friends.  I  was 
aware  of  this  circumstance,  and  intended  to  ask  him  a 
similar  favor  for  this  evening. 

At  the  moment  I  was  going  out  to  seek  my  manager,  he 
came  into  my  room. 

"By  Jove,  my  dear  Mitchell,"  I  said  to  him,  "I  was 
just  going  to  prefer  a  request  to  you." 

"Whatever  it  may  be,  my  dear  friend,"  he  replied, 
politely,  "  be  assured  it  will  be  willingly  heard." 

And  when  I  explained  to  him  what  I  wanted, 

"Good  Heavens!  Houdin,"  he  said,  in  a  tone  of  real 
annoyance,  "  how  unlucky  you  should  ask  that  of  me." 

"Why  so?"  I  replied,  in  the  same  tone;  "if  it  is  not 
possible,  my  dear  friend,  pray  let  me  withdraw  my 
request." 

"  On  the  contrary,  my  dear  Houdin — on  the  contrary, 
it  is  very  easy ;  I  am  only  vexed  at  missing  the  surprise  I 
intended  to  offer  you :  I  was  going  to  give  you  an  excel- 
lent box  for  to-night :  here  it  is." 


324  MEMOIRS  OF  KOBERT-HOUDIN, 

A  more  delicate  and  amiable  way  of  behaving  could 
hardly  be  suggested. 

A  fortnight  had  scarce  elapsed  since  my  interview  with 
Mitchell,  when,  after  a  most  successful  passage,  I  disem- 
barked at  London.  On  the  moment  of  my  arrival,  my 
manager  led  me  to  a  delightful  lodging  close  to  the  thea- 
tre, and  showed  me  all  the  rooms.  On  reaching  the  sleep- 
ing apartment,  he  said : 

"  You  have  a  celebrated  bed  before  you :  it  is  the  one 
in  which  Rachel,  De'jazet,  Jenny  Colon,  and  many  other 
artistic  celebrities,  rested  after  the  emotion  produced  by 
their  successes.  You  cannot  but  enjoy  the  ideas  which 
the  remembrance  of  these  illustrious  guests  will  summon 
up  in  your  dreams.  To  any  other  than  you,  my  dear 
Houdin,  I  would  say  that  these  celebrated  predecessors 
must  bring  good  luck ;  but  your  success  depends  on  the 
virtue  of  your  magic  staff." 

Mitchell,  feeling  desirous  to  add  all  desirable  attraction 
to  my  performances,  had  ordered  a  scene  in  the  Louis 
XV.  style,  as  well  as  a  curtain,  on  which  was  painted,  in 
letters  of  gold,  the  title  adopted  for  my  Paris  theatre, 
"  Soirees  Fantastiques  de  ROBERT-HOUDIN  ;"  consequently, 
I  could  not  begin  my  arrangements  till  all  these  prepara- 
tions had  been  completed. 

In  the  meanwhile,  having  nothing  better  to  do,  I  walked 
about  daily  in  the  magnificent  parks,  and  collected  my 
strength,  in  preparation  for  the  fatigues  I  was  about  to 
undergo  in  my  performances. 

At  this  word  "fatigues,"  my  reader  will  be  doubtlessly 
surprised,  for  he  has  every  reason  to  suppose  that  my  stay 
in  London  would  be  in  some  degree  a  period  of  rest,  as, 
instead  of  playing  seven  times  a  week,  as  in  Paris,  I  was 
only  to  give  three  performances  in  the  same  period. 


JUDICIOUS  PUFFERY.  325 

To  explain  this  apparent  contradiction,  it  will  be  enough 
for  me  to  state  that  the  work  and  fatigue  are  less  in  the 
performance  than  its  preparation.  As  at  St.  James's 
Theatre  I  had  to  perform  alternately  with  the  Comic 
Opera,  I  was  obliged,  lest  I  might  impede  these  artists  in 
their  studies,  to  give  them  all  necessary  time  for  their  re- 
hearsals, which,  as  is  well  known,  occupy  the  greater  por- 
tion of  the  day.  Consequently,  I  had  promised  to  clear 
the  stage  so  soon  as  my  performance  was  over,  and  not 
occupy  it  again  till  the  middle  of  the  day  on  which  I  per- 
formed. Add  to  this,  that  in  my  labor  of  preparing  and 
removing,  the  master's  eye  was  not  sufficient,  but  I  had 
for  various  reasons  to  set  to  work  myself,  and  it  may  be 
easily  understood  that  this  caused  me  enormous  fatigue. 

It  caused  me  at  the  outset  a  species  of  comical  regret  to 
find  that  my  performances  would  not  owe  their  success 
entirely  to  my  own  merits.  In  England  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  gain  the  ear  of  the  public  unless  every  possible 
form  of  notoriety  be  resorted  to,  and  the  change  from  my 
peaceful  retirement  in  Paris  was  very  startling.  Whenever 
I  took  my  walks  abroad,  my  name  in  gigantic  letters  stared 
me  in  the  face,  while  enormous  posters,  on  which  my  vari- 
ous tricks  were  represented,  covered  the  walls  of  London, 
and,  according  to  the  English  fashion,  were  promenaded 
about  the  streets,  by  the  help  of  a  vehicle  like  those  we 
employ  in  Paris  for  removing  furniture. 

But,  however  great  this  publicity  might  be,  it  was  quite 
modest  when  compared  to  that  opposed  to  us  by  a  rival, 
who  may  be  justly  regarded  as  the  most  ingenious  and 
skillful  puffer  in  England. 

On  my  arrival  in  England,  a  conjurer  of  the  name  of 
Anderson,  who  assumed  the  title  of  Great  Wizard  of  the 
North,  had  been  performing  for  a  long  period  at  the  little 
Strand  Theatre. 


326  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

This  artist,  fearing,  doubtlessly,  that  public  attention 
might  be  divided,  tried  to  crush  the  publicity  of  my  per- 
formances ;  hence,  he  sent  out  on  London  streets  a  caval- 
cade thus  organized : 

Four  enormous  carriages,  covered  with  posters  and  pic- 
tures representing  all  sorts  of  witchcraft,  opened  the  pro- 
cession. Then  followed  four-and-twenty  merry  men,  each 
bearing  a  banner,  on  which  was  painted  a  letter  a  yard  in 
height. 

At  each  cross-road  the  four  carriages  stopped  side  by 
side  and  presented  a  bill  some  twenty-five  yards  in  length, 
while  all  the  men,  I  should  say  letters,  on  receiving  the 
word  of  command,  drew  themselves  up  in  a  line,  like  the 
vehicles. 

Seen  in  front,  the  letters  formed  this  phrase  : 

THE  CELEBRATED  ANDERSON  ! ! ! 
while,  on  the  other  side  of  the  banners  could  be  read : 
THE  GREAT  WIZARD  OF  THE  NORTH. 

Unfortunately  for  the  Wizard,  his  performances  were 
attacked  by  a  mortal  disease ;  too  long  a  stay  in  London 
had  ended  by  producing  satiety.  Besides,  his  repertory 
was  out  of  date,  and  could  not  contend  against  the  new 
tricks  I  was  about  to  oifer.  What  could  he  present  to 
the  public  in  opposition  to  the  second  sight,  the  suspen- 
sion, and  the  inexhaustible  bottle  ?  Hence,  he  was  obliged 
to  close  his  theatre  and  start  for  the  provinces,  where  he 
managed,  as  usual,  to  make  excellent  receipts,  owing  to 
his  powerful  means  of  notoriety. 

I  have  met  many  "  puffers  "  in  my  life,  but  I  may  say  I 
never  saw  one  who  attained  the  elevation  Anderson  reach- 
ed. The  instance  I  have  quoted  will  give  some  idea  of 


THE  WIZARD  OF  THE  NORTH.  327 

his  manner,  but  I  will  add  a  few  others,  to  supply  a  per- 
fect idea  of  the  man. 

Whenever  his  performances  are  going  to  be  given  in  a 
large  town,  though  they  are  announced  with  extreme  pub- 
licity, Anderson  contrives  to  bring  his  wonders  to  the 
notice  even  of  those  who  never  read  the  newspapers  or 
posters. 

For  this  purpose,  he  .sends  to  all  the  buttermen  in  the 
town  moulds  on  which  his  name,  title,  and  the  hour  of  his 
performance  are  engraved,  begging  them  to  imprint  his 
stamp  on  their  butter-pats,  in  lieu  of  the  cow  ordinarily 
represented.  As  every  family  in  England  eats  butter  at 
breakfast,  it  follows  that  each  receives,  at  no  expense  to 
the  conjurer,  an  invitation  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  illustrious 
Wizard  of  the  North. 

Again,  too,  Anderson  sends  out  into  the  streets,  before 
daybreak,  a  dozen  men,  carrying  those  open  frames,  by 
means  of  which,  and  with  a  brush  and  lamp-black,  the  walls 
of  Paris  have  been  so  long  covered  with  puffs.  These  people 
print  the  announcement  of  the  Wizard's  performance  on 
the  pavement,  which  is  always  kept  remarkably  clean  in 
England.  In  spite  of  himself,  every  tradesman  on  open- 
ing his  shop,  and  every  inhabitant  proceeding  to  business, 
cannot  but  read  the  name  of  Anderson,  and  the  announce- 
ment of  his  performance.  It  is  true  that  a  few  hours  later 
these  puffs  are  effaced  by  the  footsteps  of  the  passers-by, 
but  thousands  of  persons  have  read  them,  and  the  Wizard 
requires  no  more. 

His  posters  are  equally  original,  and  I  was  shown  one 
of  a  gigantic  size  put  out  on  the  occasion  of  his  return  to 
London  after  a  lengthened  absence  in  the  provinces.  It 
was  a  caricature  imitation  of  the  famous  picture  "Napo- 
leon's Return  from  Elba." 


328  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

In  the  foreground  Anderson  was  seen  affecting  the  atti- 
tude of  the  great  man ;  above  his  head  fluttered  an  enorm- 
ous banner,  bearing  the  words  "The  Wonder  of  the 
World;"  while,  behind  him,  and  somewhat  lost  in  the  shade, 
the  Emperor  of  Russia  and  several  other  monarchs  stood  in 
a  respectful  posture.  As  in  the  original  picture,  the 
fanatic  admirers  of  the  Wizard  embraced  his  knees,  while 
an  immense  crowd  received  him  triumphantly.  In  the 
distance  could  be  seen  the  equestrian  statue  of  the  Iron 
Duke,  who,  hat  in  hand,  bowed  before  him,  the  Great 
Wizard;  and,  lastly,  the  very  dome  of  St.  Paul's  bent 
towards  him  most  humbly. 

At  the  bottom  was  the  inscription, 
"RETURN  OP  THE  NAPOLEON  OF  NECROMANCY." 

Regarded  seriously,  this  picture  would  be  found  a  puff 
in  very  bad  taste ;  but,  as  a  caricature,  it  is  excessively 
comic.  Besides,  it  had  the  double  result  of  making  the 
London  public  laugh,  and  bringing  a  great  number  of 
shillings  into  the  skillful  puffer's  pockets. 

When  Anderson  is  about  to  leave  a  town  where  he  has 
exhausted  all  his  resources,  and  has  nothing  more  to  hope, 
he  still  contrives  to  make  one  more  enormous  haul. 

He  orders  from  the  first  jeweller  in  the  town  a  silver 
vase,  worth  twenty  or  twenty-five  pounds  ;  he  hires,  for 
one  evening  only,  the  largest  theatre  or  room  in  the  town, 
and  announces  that  in  the  Wizard's  parting  performance  the 
spectators  will  compete  to  make  the  best  pun. 

The  silver  vase  is  to  be  the  prize  of  the  victor. 

A  jury  is  chosen  among  the  chief  people  of  the  town  to 
decide  with  the  public  on  the  merits  of  each  pun. 

It  is  agreed  that  they  will  applaud  if  they  think  a  pun 
good ;  they  will  say  nothing  to  a  passable  one,  but  groan 
at  a  bad  one. 


A   NEW  JOE  MILLER.  329 

The  room  is  always  crowded,  for  people  come  less  to 
see  the  performance,  which  they  know  by  heart,  than  to 
display  their  wit  publicly.  Each  makes  his  jest,  and  re- 
ceives a  greeting  more  or  less  favorable ;  and,  lastly,  the 
vase  is  decreed  to  the  cleverest  among  them. 

Any  other  than  Anderson  would  be  satisfied  with  the 
enormous  receipts  his  performance  produces ;  but  the 
Great  Wizard  of  the  North  has  not  finished  yet.  Before 
the  audience  leaves  the  house  he  states  that  a  short-hand 
writer  had  been  hired  by  him  to  take  down  all  the  puns, 
and  that  they  will  be  published  as  a  Miscellany. 

As  each  spectator  who  has  made  a  joke  likes  to  see  it 
in  print,  he  purchases  a  copy  of  the  book  for  a  shilling. 
An  idea  of  the  number  of  these  copies  may  be  formed 
from  the  number  of  puns  they  contain.  I  have  one  of 
these  books  in  my  possession,  printed  at  Glasgow  in  1850, 
in  which  there  are  1091  of  these  facetiae. 

The  charlatan  style  of  Anderson's  bills  is  most  amus- 
ing—  at  least  I  regard  it  as  such;  for  it  is  not  presumable 
that  Anderson  ever  intended  sincerely  to  praise  himself  in 
such  an  outrageous  way.  If  I  am  mistaken,  it  would  be 
more  than  vanity  on  his  part,  when  I  take  into  considera- 
tion his  conjuring  talent.  Hence  I  believe  him  to  be  very 
modest  at  heart. 


330  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

The  St.  James's  Theatre — Invasion  of  England  by  French  Performers 
— A  Fete  patronised  by  the  Queen — The  Diplomatist  and  the  Sleight- 
of-Hand  Man  —  Three  Thousand  Pounds  taken  at  one  Haul — I  per- 
form at  Manchester — The  Spectators  in  the  Pillory — What  capital 
Cura9oa! — A  Torrent  of  Wine — A  Catastrophe — Performance  at 
Buckingham  Palace — A  Wizard's  Repast. 

BUT  it  is  time  to  return  to  St.  James's :  the  machinists, 
painters,  and  decorators  have  finished  their  work,  for  the 
2nd  of  May  has  arrived,  the  day  fixed  for  my  stage  being 
handed  over  to  me. 

In  fact,  every  one  was  admirably  punctual :  the  new 
scenery  was  in  its  place  at  an  early  hour,  and  as,  at 
Mitchell's  request,  the  rehearsals  were  suspended  for  that 
day,  the  theatre  was  entirely  at  my  service ;  hence  I 
could  devote  myself  quietly  to  the  preparations  for  my 
performance.  However,  all  had  been  so  well  arranged  be- 
forehand, that  I  was  in  perfect  readiness  when  the  audi- 
ence began  entering  the  house. 

It  may  be  supposed  I  had  taken  every  possible  precau- 
tion to  insure  success,  for  an  experiment  which  must  ex- 
cite astonishment  if  it  succeed,  in  the  event  of  failure  is 
ruin  to  the  operator.  Hence  I  sincerely  pity  those  sor- 
cerers whose  supernatural  power  hangs  on  a  thread. 

It  is  true  that  a  skillful  conjurer  ought  always  to  be 
able  to  escape  any  diificulty  that  may  occur  to  him ;  still, 
this  sort  of  repairs  verv  rarely  meets  with  success,  for, 


AN  EXPEDIENT.  331 

after  all,  it  is  only  a  patching  together,  in  which  the  cracks 
are  only  too  visible. 

I  had  a  mode  of  escape  always  at  hand  in  any  emer- 
gency, but  I  confess  I  was  much  vexed  when  compelled  to 
have  recourse  to  these  secondary  means,  which,  by  pro- 
longing the  experiment,  render  it  far  less  striking. 

When  a  failure  happens  in  tricks  of  skill  an  escape  is 
impossible,  for  a  conjurer  ought  no  more  to  fail  in  these 
than  a  good  musician  play  a  false  note.  Whenever  he 
makes  a  mistake  in  such  a  case,  it  results  from  his  want 
of  adroitness,  which  only  time  can  correct ;  but  in  our  ex- 
periments accidents  at  times  happen  which  the  most  care- 
ful man  cannot  foresee.  In  such  an  event,  you  can  only 
trust  to  the  expedients  which  presence  of  mind  suggests. 

Thus,  one  day,  I  happened  to  break  the  glass  of  a  watch 
lent  me  for  a  trick.  My  position  was  awkward,  for  it 
is  a  very  clumsy  termination  to  a  trick  to  return  an  object 
lent  you  in  any  way  injured. 

I  quietly  walked  up  to  the  gentleman  who  had  lent  me 
the  watch,  and  offered  it  to  him,  while  being  very  careful 
to  keep  the  face  downwards ;  but,  at  the  moment  he  was 
going  to  take  it,  I  drew  it  back. 

"  This  is  your  watch  ?"  I  said,  confidently. 

"Yes,  sir,  it  is." 

"  Well,  I  merely  wished  to  prove  the  fact ;  will  you, 
sir,"  I  added,  sinking  my  voice  to  a  whisper,  "lend  it  to 
me  for  another  trick  which  I  intend  to  perform  presently?" 

"Willingly,"  the  obliging  spectator  replied. 

I  then  carried  the  watch  on  the  stage,  and,  handing  it 
secretly  to  my  servant,  I  bade  him  go  at  full  speed  to  a 
watchmaker's,  and  have  a  new  glass  put  in. 

Half  an  hour  later,  I  returned  the  watch  to  its  owner, 
saying : 


332  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

"I  have  just  noticed  to  my  regret  that  the  lateness  of 
the  hour  will  preclude  me  from  performing  the  trick  I 
promised  you ;  but  as  I  hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  see- 
ing you  again  at  my  performances,  please  to  remind  me 
the  first  time  you  come,  and  I  shall  then  be  able  to  per- 
form the  interesting  trick." 

I  was  saved. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  public  were  entering  the  theatre, 
but  so  quietly  that,  although  my  dressing-room  was  close 
to  the  stage,  I  heard  scarcely  any  noise  in  the  house.  I 
was  frightened  at  this,  for  such  a  quiet  entry  is  in  France 
a  sure  prognostic  of  bad  receipts  for  the  manager,  and 
sinister  foreboding  of  a  failure  to  the  performer. 

When  I  was  able  to  proceed  on  the  stage,  I  ran  to  the 
curtain-hole,  and  I  saw  with  as  much  surprise  as  pleasure 
the  house  completely  filled,  and  presenting,  in  addition, 
the  most  charming  company  I  had  ever  yet  performed  be- 
fore. 

I  must  say,  too,  that  the  St.  James's  Theatre  is  a  splen- 
did establishment,  for  it  is  in  some  degree  the  gathering- 
place  of  the  flower  of  the  English  aristocracy,  who  visit  it 
not  merely  to  enjoy  the  performances,  but  also  to  improve 
their  pronunciation  of  French. 

One  fact  will  give  an  idea  of  the  elegance  and  fashion 
of  my  spectators ;  no  lady  is  allowed  to  keep  on  her  bon- 
net, however  elegant  it  may  be ;  she  is  obliged  to  leave  it 
in  the  saloon.  This  is,  indeed,  a  thorough  English  fashion, 
for  the  ladies  come  to  the  theatre  in  evening  costume, 
with  their  hair  beautifully  arranged,  and  low-necked 
dresses,  while  the  gentlemen  are  attired  in  black,  with 
white  neck-handkerchiefs  and  gloves. 

At  St.  James's,  the  pit  only  exists  traditionally ;  it  is 


A  KINDLY  RECEPTION.  338 

driven  under  the  boxes,  and  its  presence  is  scarcely  no- 
ticed. All  the  body  of  the  house  is  filled  with  stalls,  or 
rather  elegant  arm-chairs,  to  which  ladies  are  admitted. 

The  price  of  the  seats  is  in  proportion  to  the  comfort 
they  offer ;  each  stall  costs  seven  shillings,  and  you  can 
enter  the  modest  pit  for  three  shillings ;  but  this  is  no 
dearer  than  at  the  Opera. 

While  I  was  surveying  this  elegant  assembly  with  de- 
light, I  felt  a  gentle  tap  on  my  shoulder.  It  was  Mitchell, 
who  came  to  give  me  a  delicate  hint  about  some  invita- 
tions he  had  thought  it  advisable  to  send  out. 

"Well,  Houdin,"  he  said  to  me,  "how  do  you  like  your 
examination  ?  does  the  audience  please  you  ?" 

"  It  is  delightful,  my  dear  Mitchell ;  I  may  add,  it  is 
the  first  time  I  ever  performed  in  a  theatre  to  such  a  bril- 
liant audience." 

"  Brilliant  is  the  very  word,  my  friend,  for  you  must 
know  that,  among  your  admirers"  (pardon  me  this  word 
of  praise,  but  I  am  quoting  Mitchell),  "  is  the  whole  of  the 
English  Press,  which  possesses  a  numerous  staff.  We  shall 
also  have  as  spectators  some  gentlemen  whose  opinion  ex- 
ercises a  very  great  influence  in  London  drawing-rooms. 
And  lastly,  a  great  number  of  places  are  occupied  by 
artistic  celebrities,  who  will  justly  appreciate  the  Robert- 
Houdin  whom,  to  employ  the  champagne  phrase,  we  have 
made  'sparkle'  as  he  deserves." 

It  may  be  imagined  that,  after  this  explanation,  my 
performance  seemed  to  me  a  solemnity,  and  that  I  em- 
ployed the  utmost  care  and  zeal  in  executing  my  tricks. 
I  am  justified  in  stating  that  I  obtained  a  legitimate  suc- 
cess. 

Shall  I  now  speak  of  the  kindness  and  encouragement  I 
received  from  the  audience  of  St.  James's  Theatre  ?  I 


334  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

will  appeal  to  the  celebrated  artistes  who  have  performed 
on  this  stage  before  me  :  Rachel,  Roger,  Samson,  Regnier, 
Duplessis,  De'jazet,  Bouffe',  Levassor,  &c. ;  have  they  ever 
found  in  Europe  spectators  comparable  to  those  of  St. 
James's  ?  Here  there  are  no  paid  clappers ;  they  would 
be  superfluous,  for  the  audience  take  upon  themselves  to 
encourage  the  performers.  The  gentlemen  are  not  afraid 
of  bursting  their  gloves,  while  the  ladies  make  as  much 
noise  with  their  tiny  hands  as  their  strength  allows. 

But  I  must  stop,  for  I  should  fear,  were  I  to  continue, 
drifting  into  the  style  of  the  Great  Wizard. 

My  performances  went  on  at  St.  James's,  and  amply 
consoled  me  for  my  losses  in  Paris.  Although  I  only  per- 
formed three  times  a  week,  their  produce  exceeded  that  of 
my  best  days  at  home.  My  readers  might  imagine  that 
such  unequivocal  success  ought  to  have  satisfied  me,  but, 
as  I  have  said  before,  I  am  naturally  ambitious,  and  I 
longed  for  one  decisive  triumph  —  I  wished  to  have  my 
performance  honored  by  the  presence  of  the  Queen.  Un- 
der happier  auspices  I  doubt  not  that  the  honor  would 
have  fallen  to  my  share,  but  at  the  moment  there  was  a 
peculiar  difficulty,  which  I  saw  no  mode  of  overcoming.  I 
will  describe  it  in  as  summary  a  manner  as  I  can. 

After  the  revolution,  the  French  theatres,  as  I  have 
already  said,  found  their  receipts  reduced  to  worthless 
free  tickets  ;  hence  they  sought  in  neighboring  countries, 
just  as  I  had  done  myself,  a  public  less  engaged  with 
politics,  and  consequently  more  apt  to  yield  to  the  attrac- 
tion of  amusement. 

England  was  the  only  country  that  had  made  no  change 
in  its  habits  of  luxury  and  pleasure,  and  hence  many 
managers  turned  their  longing  eyes  towards  this  El 
Dorado. 


A  FRENCH  INVASION.  335 

The  Palais  Royal  Theatre,  which,  by  the  way,  was  not 
the  worst  off,  was  one  of  the  first  to  draw  a  bill  at  sight 
upon  the  rich  metropolis  of  England. 

Dormeuil,  its  skillful  manager,  divided  his  company 
into  two  parts,  one  remaining  at  Paris,  while  the  other 
came  to  the  St.  James's  Theatre  in  the  place  of  the  Op^ra 
Comique,  which  had  ended  its  engagement  with  Mitchell. 
Levassor,  Grassot,  Ravel,  M'lle  Scrivaneck,  &c.,  received 
a  brilliant  reception  from  our  mutual  audience. 

This  success  became  known  in  Paris,  and  turned  the 
head  of  M.  H ,  manager  of  the  Historic  Theatre. 

After  making  arrangements  with  the  proprietors  of  a 
London  theatre  (Covent  Garden,  I  think),  the  impresario 
also  came  across  with  a  portion  of  his  company  to  perform 
his  play  of  Monte  Ohristo,  which  lasted  two  evenings. 

The  arrival  of  these  performers,  all  of  great  merit  gene- 
rally, disturbed  the  peace  of  the  English  managers,  who, 
fearing  with  some  reason  the  entire  loss  of  their  audiences, 
resolved  to  oppose  this  dangerous  invasion. 

"  The  French  and  Italian  theatres  in  London,"  they 
said  in  their  attacks,  "  can  play  on  their  boards  whatever 
pieces  they  like ;  they  are  privileged  to  do  so,  and  we 
respect  their  right.  But  we  will  not  permit  all  our  thea- 
tres to  be  thus  invaded,  or  Shakspeare  be  dethroned  by 
foreign  playwrights." 

The  question  of  theatrical  rivalry  soon  assumed  the 
character  of  a  national  one.  The  papers  took  up  the  cause 
of  the  theatres,  while  the  public  adopted  the  .opinion  of  the 
press  writers,  and  formed  an  army  to  fight  against  the  new 
comers. 

M.  H attempted,  however,  to  perform  Alexandra 

Dumas's  master-piece;  but  it  was  impossible  to  hear  a 
word,  so  great  were  the  noise  and  confusion  in  the  house 


336  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

during  the  whole  time  the  performance  lasted.  Although 
the  manager  persevered  in  his  enterprise,  he  was  at  length 
obliged  to  yield  to  this  imposing  protest,  which  threatened 
to  degenerate  into  a  collision,  and  he  decided  on  closing 
the  theatre. 

Mitchell  held  out  his  hand  to  the  unlucky  manager,  and 
offered  him  the  hospitality  of  his  theatre,  that  he  might  at 
least  play  his  double  piece  once  before  he  left  London. 
For  this  purpose  he  granted  him  one  night  of  the  Palais 
Royal  performances,  and  promised  to  arrange  with  me  for 
the  next  night. 

I  could  refuse  Mitchell  nothing,  and  the  drama  was 
represented  in  its  entirety,  after  which  the  company  re- 
turned to  France. 

I  granted  this  favor  with  the  greatest  pleasure,  as  it 
obliged  many  amiable  performers,  and  I  will  add  that, 

were  a  similar  occasion  offered  me  to  oblige  M.  H 

again,  I  would  gladly  accept  it,  if  only  to  remind  him 
about  thanking  me  for  the  first  service  I  did  him. 

Fortunately  for  my  hopes,  an  occasion  was  offered  me 
for  performing  before  her  Majesty,  of  which  I  gladly 
availed  myself,  as  it  enabled  me,  at  the  same  time  to  do 
some  slight  service  in  the  cause  of  charity.  The  occasion 
I  will  here  describe,  as  it  affords  a  pleasing  trait  of  Eng- 
lish manners  and  customs. 

A  benevolent  fete,  the  object  of  which  was  to  open  baths 
for  the  poor,  had  been  organized  by  the  first  ladies  in  the 
land,  and  it  was  to  be  held  at  a  delicious  villa  at  Fulham, 
belonging  to  Sir  Arthur  Webster,  who  had  kindly  placed 
it  at  the  disposal  of  the  lady  patronesses. 

This  graceful  swarm  of  sisters  of  charity  was  composed 
of  ten  duchesses,  fifteen  marchioness,  and  some  thirty 
countesses,  viscountesses  and  baronesses,  at  the  head  of 


A  FANCY  FAIR.  337 

whom  was  the  Queen,  who  intended  to  honor  the  fete  by 
her  presence.  This  was  more  than  sufficient  to  dispose  of 
the  tickets,  however  high  the  price  might  be.  Still,  the 
ladies  conscientiously  desired  to  add  some  attraction,  which 
would  occupy  the  afternoon  agreeably.  The  first  idea  was 
to  arrange  a  concert,  and,  of  course,  the  chief  singers  in 
the  metropolis  must  be  invited  to  join,  as  the  company  was 
so  select ;  hence  the  committee  turned  their  eyes  to  Her 
Majesty's  Theatre. 

But  there  a  difficulty  arose :  they  must  ask  each  artiste 
to  display  his  talent  gratuitously,  and  as  this  was  begging 
a,  favor,  the  embassy  placed  the  fair  promoters  in  a  deli- 
cate position  which  they  hesitated  to  accept. 

Fortunately  for  them,  these  ladies  had  taken  care  to 
enlist  the  services  of  my  manager,  whose  intelligent  advice 
would  be  most  useful  in  arranging  the  f£te. 

Mitchell  was  requested  to  call  on  the  artistes,  and  he 
soon  drew  up  a  most  remarkable  list :  it  contained  Madame 
Grisi,  Madame  Castellan,  Madame  Alboni,  Mario,  Roger 
(then  engaged  at  Her  Majesty's  Theatre),  Tamburini,  and 
Lablache. 

After  the  concert  a  divertissement  was  to  take  place 
which  must  excite  the  public  curiosity.  A  large  number 
of  ladies,  dressed  in  costumes  selected  from  all  parts  of  the 
world,  had  promised  to  form  fancy  quadrilles  on  the  lawn, 
in  which  they  would  perform  character  dances,  and  for 
this  purpose  elegant  and  spacious  tents  were  erected. 

But  this  spectacle  could  only  last  an  hour,  and  there 
were  still  two  to  be  filled  up,  in  which  the  guests  could 
only  be  offered  the  pleasure  of  walking  about.  It  was 
evident  this  was  not  enough,  especially  when  we  remember 
the  price  of  the  tickets  was  two  pounds.  Hence  the  com- 
mittee naturally  thought  of  my  performance. 

w 


338  MEMOIRS  OF  EOBERT-HOUDIN. 

Mitchell  had  expected  this,  so  he  took  on  himself,  owing 
to  our  friendly  connexion,  to  obtain  my  consent.  He  did 
more,  for  wishing  in  his  turn  to  offer  his  alms  to  the  poor, 
he  offered  to  build,  at  his  own  expense,  a  theatre  in  the 
ground,  and  transfer  to  it  the  scenery  I  had  at  the  theatre. 
This  was,  in  some  respects,  removing  St.  James's  Theatre 
to  Fulham. 

Mitchell  told  me  of  this  lucky  event,  from  which  he  ex- 
pected the  best  results,  and  I  may  say  at  once  that  his 
expectations  were  realized.  As  soon  as  it  was  known  that 
the  Queen  would  deign  to  be  present  at  one  of  my  per- 
formances, many  members  of  the  aristocracy,  who  had  not 
yet  visited  the  St.  James's  Theatre,  sent  to  order  boxes. 

On  the  day  fixed  for  the  Fulham  festival,  I  started  after 
breakfast  for  Sir  Arthur  Webster's  residence.  My  mana- 
ger, with  the  machinist  of  the  theatre,  had  been  at  work 
there  from  an  early  hour,  so  that,  when  I  arrived  I  found 
the  theatre  quite  in  readiness  for  me.  Scenery,  drops, 
and  curtain,  everything,  in  short,  was  there,  excepting  the 
foot-lights,  for  which  the  sun  was  an  admirable  substitute. 

The  public  were  to  be  admitted  at  one,  and  though  I 
was  not  to  give  my  performance  till  nearly  four  o'clock, 
all  my  preparations  were  made  by  the  time  the  doors 
opened.  The  lady  patronesses  were  already  at  their  posts 
to  receive  the  Queen  and  the  royal  family,  and  were  as- 
sisted by  stewards  selected  from  the  highest  members  of 
the  aristocracy ;  among  them  being  the  Duke  of  Beaufort, 
the  Marquis  of  Abercorn,  the  Marquis  of  Douglas,  &c. 

While  waiting  my  turn  to  act,  I  thought  I  might  as  well 
take  part  in  the  fete  as  a  simple  spectator ;  hence  I  went 
first  to  the  entrance  gates. 

I  had  scarce  reached  them  when  I  saw  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  get  'out  of  his  carriage,  the  popular  hero  before 


GREAT  PERSONAGES.  339 

•whom  gentle  and  simple  bowed  with  respectful  deference. 

A  few  moments  later  appeared  the  Duke  and  Duchess 
of  Cambridge,  accompanied  by  his  Highness  Prince  Fred- 
erick William  of  Hesse,  and  in  a  group  immediately  fol- 
lowing these  high  personages,  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  the 
Duchess  Bernhard  of  Saxe  Weimar,  and  the  Princesses 
Anne  and  Amelia  were  pointed  out  to  me. 

These  illustrious  visitors  were  received  by  the  lady  pa- 
tronesses with  the  honors  due  to  their  rank,  while  the  band 
of  the  Royal  Horse  Guards  played  national  airs. 

Outside  could  be  heard  the  noisy  and  animated  crowd, 
pressing  forward,  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  to  see  the  car- 
riages with  the  powdered  and  gorgeous  footmen  whose 
heads  are  taxed  so  highly  by  the  government. 

The  numerous  subscribers  flocked  in :  all  wished  to  be 
punctual,  for  it  was  known  the  Queen  would  grace  the 
fete  by  her  presence,  and  an  Englishman,  great  or  small, 
would  not  at  any  price  miss  the  pleasure  of  seeing  once 
again  the  features  of  her  most  gracious  Majesty. 

The  place  I  had  selected  was  most  favorable  for  observ- 
ing the  new  arrivals  and  not  missing  a  single  person. 
Still,  whatever  attraction  this  brilliant  panorama  might 
offer  me,  I  was  equally  anxious  to  see  the  interior  of  the 
fairy  palace,  and  I  was  just  turning  away,  after  directing 
a  parting  glance  to  the  entrance  gates.  I  was  glad  I  did 
so,  for  at  this  moment  arrived,  close  after  each  other, 
Prince  Louis  Napoleon,  our  present  Emperor ;  Prince  Ed- 
ward of  Saxe  Weimar;  Prince  Lrewenstein,  and  several 
other  great  personages  whose  names  have  escaped  my 
memory. 

The  gardens,  the  conservatories,  and  apartments,  were 
already  crowded  by  all  the  rank  and  fashion  of  London, 
and  it  was  a  hard  matter  to  move  about  at  one's  ease.  At 


340  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

each  moment  a  formidable  swarm  of  marchionesses  and 
ladies  stopped  the  way,  and  forced  me  to  yield  the  road  to 
them,  in  my  fear  of  crushing  the  most  dazzling  dresses  I 
had  ever  seen.  This  was  difficult  enough,  for  whatever  way 
I  might  turn  in  my  politeness,  I  ran  the  risk  of  finding  my- 
self in  the  same  dilemma,  so  numerous  and  compact  was 
the  assemblage  at  Fulham. 

At  half-past  two  the  Queen  had  not  yet  arrived,  and 
there  was  a  hesitation  about  waiting  any  longer,  when 
frenzied  hurrahs,  rending  the  air  for  the  length  of  a  mile, 
announced  her  Majesty's  speedy  arrival. 

The  church-bells  immediately  began  ringing,  the  band 
struck  up  "  God  save  the  Queen,"  while  the  youngest  and 
fairest  ladies  formed  a  double  avenue  along  her  Majesty's 
route. 

These  preparations  were  scarce  made  ere  the  Queen  left 
her  carriage,  and  moving  along  an  immense  avenue,  cov- 
ered with  red  cloth,  and  sheltered  overhead  by  a  gay 
awning,  she  walked  towards  the  room  where  her  arrival 
was  only  awaited  to  commence  the  concert. 

On  reaching  the  room,  the  Queen  took  her  place  in  the 
midst  of  a  circle  formed  by  the  lady  patronesses,  and  the 
concert  began. 

I  should  have  gladly  listened  to  the  dulcet  sounds,  but, 
unfortunately,  the  hall,  in  spite  of  its  vast  proportions, 
could  not  contain  all  the  spectators,  and  the  crush  was  so 
great  that  it  was  not  only  crowded,  but  the  approaches 
were  invaded  to  the  point  where  the  vibration  of  the  voices 
finally  died  away. 

Hence,  I  was  obliged  to  content  myself  with  hearing 
outside  the  repeated  applause  bestowed  on  the  talented 
singers.  Roger,  especially,  obtained  a  real  triumph  by 
his  aria  from  Lucia  di  Lammermoor,  and  the  exquisite 


AN  AMATEUR  CONJURER.  341 

way  in  which  he  sings  it  is  well  known.  The  Queen 
herself  commanded  an  encore. 

The  concert  was  scarcely  over  when,  in  accordance 
with  the  programme,  the  Queen  proceeded  to  see  the  qua- 
drilles, in  which  magnificently  attired  ladies  were  to  take 
part. 

I  should  have  gladly  witnessed  this  graceful  sight,  but 
I  thought  it  advisable  to  cast  a  final  glance  on  my  stage. 

Hence,  I  proceeded  towards  the  theatre,  where  a  private 
entrance  had  been  prepared  for  me,  and  I  was  just  going 
up  the  few  steps  leading  to  it,  when  some  one  seized  my 
arm. 

"  Ah  !  Monsieur  Robert-Houdin,"  a  gentleman  said  to 
me,  with  a  smile,  as  he  prepared  to  follow  me  up  the  stairs, 
"that  is  capital — we  will  go  in  together." 

"Where,  sir?"  I  asked,  much  surprised  at  this  pro- 
posal. 

"Why,  on  your  stage,"  the  unknown  said,  with  an  air 
of  authority ;  "  and  I  trust  you  will  not  refuse  me  that 
pleasure." 

"  I  am  vexed  to  deny  you,  sir ;  but  that  is  impossible," 
I  said  politely,  knowing  that  in  these  grounds  I  could  only 
meet  persons  who  must  be  treated  with  respect. 

"Why  so?"  the  gentleman  continued,  most  pressingly. 
"  I  find,  on  the  contrary,  nothing  easier.  If  we  cannot 
go  in  side  by  side,  we  can  follow  each  other." 

"Pardon  me,  sir,  if  I  refuse  your  request;  but  no 
stranger  is  allowed  on  my  stage." 

"  Very  good,"  my  assailant  then  said,  pleasantly ;  "  if 
that  is  the  case,  I  will  tell  you  my  name,  so  that  I  may  be 
no  longer  a  *  stranger '  to  you.  I  am  Baron  Brunnow, 
the  Russian  ambassador,  as  great  an  admirer  of  your  mys- 
teries as  I  am  desirous  to  find  them  out."  And  he  con- 


342  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOTJDIN. 

tinued  his  ascent,  while  striving  to  force  the  barrier. 
"What,  Monsieur  Kobert-Houdin,"  he  added,  "do  you 
still  refuse  me  this  ?  I  only  ask  one  or  two  explanations, 
nothing  more." 

"  I  must  persist  in  my  refusal,  Monsieur  le  Baron,  for 
several  reasons,  and,  more  especially,  for  this  one " 

"What?" 

"  Your  perspicuity  and  talent  are  so  universally  recog- 
nized, that  I  would  not  deprive  you  of  the  pleasure  of 
yourself  detecting  these  secrets,  which  are  hardly  worthy 
your  powerful  intellect." 

"Ah!  ah!"  the  Baron  replied,  with  a  laugh,  "how 
diplomatic  we  are.  Do  you  wish  to  follow  in  my  track  ?" 

"I  am  unworthy  to  do  so,  Monsieur  le  Baron." 

"  Very  good,  very  good.  In  the  meanwhile,  I  am  re- 
pulsed with  loss,  and  forced  to  take  my  place  among  the 
spectators.  I  yield ;  but  tell  me,  Monsieur  Kobert-Houdin, 
have  you  ever  been  in  Russia  ?" 

"No,  sir,  never." 

"  Then  give  me  your  card." 

And  the  ambassador  wrote  his  name  below  mine. 

"  Here,"  he  said,  handing  it  me  back,  "if^you  ever  feel 
an  inclination  to  visit  our  country,  that  card  will  be  very 
useful  to  you ;  and,  if  I  happen  to  be  at  St.  Petersburg  at 
the  time,  come  and  see  me,  and  I  will  procure  you  the 
honor  of  performing  before  his  Majesty  the  Emperor 
Nicholas." 

I  thanked  Baron  Brunnow,  and  he  left  me. 

During  this  conversatian,  the  quadrilles  were  being 
danced,  and,  before  their  termination,  the  crowd  had  oc- 
cupied all  the  seats  for  my  performance,  save  those  re- 
served for  the  royal  family  and  the  court.  The  Queen  her- 
self soon  arrived,  and  I  immediately  received  orders  to  begin. 


A  DAZZLING  PICTURE.  343 

Would  that  I  had  a  more  skillful  pen  with  which  to  de- 
pict in  its  true  colors  the  picture  which  revealed  itself  to 
mj  dazzled  gaze  at  this  moment !  At  any  rate,  I  will  at- 
tempt to  describe  it. 

Imagine  a  large  lawn  rising  before  me  in  an  amphithe- 
atrical  shape,  and  arranged  like  the  pit  of  a  theatre.  It 
would  have  been  impossible  to  say  whether  the  ground  was 
covered  with  grass  or  gravel,  so  thronged  was  it  with  la- 
dies, who  were  alone  allowed  to  sit  down. 

In  the  first  row  and  nearest  my  theatre,  the  Queen, 
having  her  royal  husband  on  her  right,  was  surrounded 
by  her  young  and  graceful  family.  A  little  in  the  rear 
the  ladies  in  waiting  and  the  lady  patronesses  formed  the 
royal  escort.  At  a  respectful  distance  behind,  the  wives 
and  daughters  of  the  subscribers  took  their  places,  while  the 
gentlemen  formed  symmetrical  groups  round  this  vast  space. 

The  sight  was  truly  magnificent ;  all  the  ladies,  dazzling 
with  youth  and  beauty,  covered  with  diamonds  and  flowers, 
and  rivalling  each  other  in  good  taste  and  brilliancy,  re- 
sembled a  vast  enameled  prairie,  on  which  the  richest 
flowers  of  spring  were  displayed,  while  the  black  coats  of 
the  gentlemen  who  enframed  this  smiling  picture,  far  from 
dulling  it,  only  heightened  the  effect. 

On  either  side  of  the  lawn,  old  oak-trees  lent  their  re- 
freshing shade  to  this  improvised  theatre. 

I  felt  a  noble  pride  at  that  moment,  when  I  thought  1 
held,  as  it  were  at  my  fingers'  ends,  the  witching  eyes  of 
duchesses,  at  times  so  haughty,  but  now  so  gracious,  and 
which  seemed  at  every  moment  to  gain  fresh  brilliancy 
at  the  sight  of  the  surprises  I  offered  them. 

In  this  unique  performance  the  time  passed  so  rapidly, 
that  I  was  quite  astonished  when  I  found  myself  perform- 
ing my  last  trick. 


344  MEMOIRS  OF  HOBERT-HOUDIN. 

Before  leaving  her  seat,  the  Queen,  although  she  had 
several  times  evinced  her  satisfaction,  sent  me  her  compli- 
ments through  an  aide-de-camp,  who  also  expressed  her 
Majesty's  desire  to  have  a  performance  at  Buckingham 
Palace  at  a  later  date. 

I  had  made  every  arrangement  to  start  for  town  imme- 
diately my  performance  was  over,  lest  I  might  be  delayed 
by  the  carriages  waiting  at  the  park  gates.  An  idea  of 
the  number  of  my  audience  can  be  formed,  when  I  say  it 
took  me  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  to  pass  through 
the  carriages  drawn "  up  in  double  file  along  the  road. 
The  receipts  of  the  festival  will  supply  a  better  proof: 
they  amounted  to  2500Z.! 

The  next  day  the  royal  arms  appeared  at  the  head  of 
my  bills,  and  below,  the  following  passage,  as  a  species 
of  baptismal  certificate : 

"  Robert-Houdin,  who  has  had  the  honor  of  performing 
before  her  most  gracious  Majesty  the  Queen,  Prince  Albert, 
the  Royal  Family,  and  the  Nobility  of  the  United  King- 
dom" &c. 

My  fashion  only  become  the  greater  at  St.  James's. 

We  had  now  reached  the  middle  of  July,  and  no  one 
but  an  Englishman  can  understand  the  possibility  of  ob- 
taining a  theatrical  success  during  the  dog-day  heats.  I 
must  say,then,  that  among  our  brethren  beyond  the  Channel, 
where  all  our  customs  are  inverted,  the  season  for  concerts 
is  from  May  to  the  end  of  August.  In  September  the 
aristocracy  retire  to  their  estates,  where  they  remain  the 
the  other  six  months  of  the  year. 

I  followed  the  example  of  my  audience :  I  quitted  Lon- 
don at  the  beginning  of  September,  not  like  them  to  take 
rest,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  commence  a  life  even  more 


THE  MANCHESTER  THEATRE.  345 

agitated  than  the  one  I  was  leaving.  I  went  to  the  Man- 
chester Theatre,  where  Knowles,  the  manager,  had  made 
an  engagement  with  me  for  fifteen  performances. 

The  theatre  in  this  city  is  immense;  like  the  vast  arence 
of  ancient  Rome,  it  can  hold  an  entire  people.  To  give 
an  idea  of  its  size,  I  need  only  say  that  twelve  hundred 
spectators  scarcely  filled  the  pit. 

When  I  took  possession  of  the  stage,  I  was  startled  at 
its  huge  proportions ;  for  I  feared  I  should  be  lost  upon 
it,  and  my  voice  be  unheard. 

The  reasons  for  the  erection  of  -this  immense  building 
were  explained  to  me  afterwards. 

Manchester,  as  an  eminent  manufacturing  city,  counts 
its  workmen  by  thousands.  Well,  these  hardy  artisans 
are  all  fond  of  the  stage,  and  in  their  hand-to-mouth  ex- 
istence they  often  give  up  one  or  two  nights  a  week  to 
this  style  of  amusement ;  hence  a  large  space  was  required 
to  house  them  all. 

Judging  by  the  size  of  the  house,  I  saw  that  many  of 
the  tricks  I  performed  at  St.  James's  were  unsuited  for 
the  Manchester  Theatre ;  hence,  I  was  obliged  to  draw  up 
a  programme  containing  merely  tricks  that  could  be  seen 
from  a  distance,  and  whose  effect  would  strike  the  masses. 

So  soon  as  my  performances  were  announced,  the 
"hands"  flocked  in  in  shoals,  and  the  pit,  their  favorite 
place,  was  literally  crammed ;  while  the  rest  of  the  house 
was  nearly  empty.  This  is,  however,  generally  the  case 
at  a  first  performance  in  England;  for  many  people  wait 
for  the  newspaper  critiques,  which  are  sure  to  appear  on 
the  following  day,  ere  they  make  up  their  mind. 

The  audience  entered  the  house  with  a  noise  unexampled 
in  any  French  theatre,  except  at  those  gratuitous  per- 
formances given  in  Paris  on  grand  occasions.  Before  the 


346  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

curtain  was  raised,  I  was  obliged  to  wait,  and  give  my 
noisy  public  time  to  cool  down,  and  order  and  silence  be- 
ing gradually  established,  I  began  my  performance. 

Instead  of  the  fashionable  world,  the  elegant  toilettes, 
and  those  spectators  who  seemed  to  spread  an  aristocratic 
perfume  over  the  St.  James's  Theatre,  I  now  found  myself 
in  the  presence  of  simple  workmen,  modestly  and  uni- 
formly attired,  rough  in  their  manner,  and  eager  for 
amusement. 

But  this  change,  far  from  displeasing  me,  stimulated  my 
energies  and  dash,  aad  I  was  soon  at  my  ease  with  my 
new  spectators,  when  I  saw  that  they  took  a  lively  interest 
in  my  experiments.  Still,  an  accident  at  the  outset  nearly 
aroused  the  popular  dissatisfaction. 

The  Manchester  artisans,  far  from  coming  to  my  per- 
formances to  improve  their  French  accent,  were  greatly 
surprised  at  hearing  themselves  addressed  in  any  language 
but  their  own.  Protests  were  put  in  on  every  side,  and 
soon  shouts  were  heard  of  "Speak  English!" 

As  for  my  complying  with  the  request,  it  was  simply 
impossible ;  for  though  I  had  been  six  months  in  London, 
as  I  was  always  among  my  own  countrymen,  or  persons 
who  talked  French,  I  had  no  occasion  to  apply  myself  to 
the  English  language.  Still,  I  tried  to  satisfy  a  claim 
that  appeared  to  me  legitimate,  and  make  up  for  my  defi- 
ciencies by  boldness  and  good-will.  I  began  by  pronounc- 
ing the  few  English  words  I  knew ;  when  my  vocabulary 
was  at  fault,  and  I  was  about  to  run  short,  I  invented  ex- 
pressions which,  owing  to  their  strange  shape,  greatly 
amused  my  audience.  Often,  too,  when  in  a  difficulty,  I 
boldly  asked  them  to  come  to  my  aid,  and  it  was  my  turn 
to  feel  a  great  inclination  to  laugh. 

"  How  do  you  call  it?"  I  said,  with  a  serio-comic  air,  as 


ENGLISH  SPOKEN  HERE!  347 

I  held  up  the  article  whose  name  I  wished  to  know ;  and 
straightway  a  hundred  voices  responded  to  my  appeal. 
Nothing  could  be  more  pleasant  than  a  lesson  thus  taken, 
when  my  teachers,  contrary  to  the  usual  fashion,  paid  for 
the  privilege  of  giving  it. 

Through  my  condescension  I  succeeded  in  making  peace 
with  my  audience,  who  warmly  cemented  it  on  several  oc- 
casions by  their  hearty  applause.  The  last  trick  especially 
created  a  tremendous  excitement — I  mean  the  inexhausti- 
ble bottle,  produced  with  scenery  and  decorations  never  be- 
fore witnessed  on  any  stage.  *  •• 

The  picture  presented  by  this  trick  is  indescribable,  and 
a  skillful  pencil  could  alone  reproduce  its  numerous  de- 
tails. Here,  however,  is  a  sketch  as  accurate  as  possible : 

I  have  already  said  that  although  the  spectators  were 
few  and  far  between  in  some  parts  of  the  house,  the  pit 
was  crowded,  and  it  consequently  contained  more  than 
twelve  hundred  persons. 

I  own  it  was  a  really  curious  sight  to  see  all  these  heads 
issuing  invariably  from  dark-colored  waistcoats,  heightened 
by  that  ruddiness  of  face  which  can  be  only  produced  by 
the  beef  and  porter  of  Great  Britain. 

In  order  that  I  might  communicate  more  freely  with  my 
numerous  spectators,  the  machinist  had  put  up  a  plank 
running  from  the  stage  to  the  end  of  the  pit,  and  as  I 
also  wished  to  address  persons  at  the  sides,  two  other 
"  practicables,"  much  shorter  than  the  centre  one,  ran 
across  to  the  boxes.  The  latter  did  not  occupy  room  like 
the  first,  for  they  were  just  over  a  passage,  while  those 
who  entered  by  it  had  to  stoop  down  to  reach  their  seats ; 
but  what  was  that  slight  inconvenience  to  the  pleasure 
they  promised  themselves  in  seeing  the  "French  con- 
jurer?" 


348  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

The  public  were  still  entering  the  pit  after  my  perform- 
ance had  commenced,  and  so  many  persons  were  allowed 
to  come  in  that  there  was  soon  no  room  for  the  laggards. 

Several  of  them  had  the  courage  to  remain  bent  under 
the  "  practicables,"  and,  looking  out  right  and  left  in  turn, 
they  could  follow  my  tricks.  But  one  of  these  bold  spec- 
tators, doubtlessly  fatigued  by  the  inconvenient  posture  he 
was  obliged  to  keep,  ingeniously  passed  his  head  through 
the  narrow  space  between  the  "practicable"  and  the  boxes. 
He  managed  it  very  cleverly,  and  his  action  was  precisely 
that  of  a  button  going  into  its  corresponding  hole. 

This  innovation  was,  it  may  be  easily  supposed,  gaily 
and  noisily  welcomed  by  the  audience,  and  the  unfortunate 
man  had  to  endure  the  fate  reserved  for  all  innovators  — 
he  was  laughed  at  and  "  chaffed"  tremendously.  But  he 
did  not  trouble  himself  about  that,  and  his  coolness  dis- 
armed his  opponents. 

Encouraged  by  his  example,  a  neighbor  tried  the  but- 
ton-hole mano3uvre,  then  a  second  and  a  third,  and  thus, 
by  the  middle  of  the  performance,  half  a  dozen  heads 
without  bodies  were  symmetrically  arranged  on  either  side 
the  pit,  looking  for  all  the  world  like  skittle-pins  waiting 
to  be  knocked  down. 

I  had  arrived  at  the  bottle  trick,  which  consists  in  pro- 
ducing from  an  empty  bottle  every  liquor  that  may  be 
asked  for,  no  matter  the  number  of  drinkers. 

The  reputation  of  this  famous  bottle  was  already  estab- 
lished in  Manchester,  for  the  London  papers  had  fully 
described  the  experiment.  Hence,  a  general  hurrah  was 
heard  when  I  appeared  armed  with  my  marvellous  bottle ; 
for,  in  addition  to  the  merit  of  the  trick  itself,  the  work- 
men also  counted  on  the  pleasure  of  drinking  a  glass  of 
brandy,  or  any  other  liquor. 


THE  BOTTLE  TRICK.  349 

Flattered  by  this  reception,  I  proceeded  to  the  centre 
of  the  pit,  followed  by  my  servant,  who  carried  an  enor- 
mous tray  of  wine-glasses.  But  I  had  scarce  arrived  there 
when  a  thousand  voices  began  exclaiming,  "  Brandy,  whis- 
ky, gin,  cura9oa,  shrub,  rum,"  &c. 

It  was  impossible  to  satisfy  all  at  once  ;  hence,  I  wished 
to  proceed  in  rotation,  and,  after  filling  a  glass,  I  offered 
it  to  the  man  who  I  thought  had  made  the  first  claim; 
but  the  gentleman  was  utterly  disappointed.  Twenty 
hands  were  stretched  out  to  dispute  the  precious  liquor, 
and  the  glass  was  speedily  upset.  The  spectators, 
suffering  the  punishment  of  Tantalus,  shouted  for  the 
liquid,  which  was  not  fated  to  reach  their  lips.  I  filled  a 
second  glass  —  it  shared  the  fate  of  the  previous  one,  and 
was  fought  for  so  obstinately  that  the  glass  was  broken. 

Further  on,  the  same  request  was  made ;  I  complied, 
and  none  could  profit  by  it. 

Without  troubling  myself  as  to  the  result,  I  poured  out 
the  liquor  profusely,  and  left  my  audience  to  fight  for  its 
possession. 

Soon  all  the  glasses  had  disappeared,  and  in  vain  I 
asked  for  them  back  to  continue  my  bounty ;  not  a  trace 
of  them  was  to  be  found.  My  experiment  was,  therefore, 
in  danger  of  sudden  termination,  when  a  clever  spectator 
Lcld  out  his  hand  in  the  shape  of  a  cup. 

The  process  was  as  simple  as  it  was  ingenious ;  it  was 
tlio  egg  of  Christopher  Columbus.  The  astonishment  his 
r.iMghbots  felt  permitted  the  inventor  to  profit  by  his  dis- 
covery, which  is  unfortunately  a  rarity. 

This  improvised  cup  was  unanimously  accepted,  but  the 
imitators  saw  their  piracy  suffer  the  same  fate,  minus  the 
breakage,  as  the  glasses. 

Quite  tired,  I  was  about  to  withdraw,  when  a  new  im- 


350  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

provement  was  introduced  by  a  spectator,  as  thirsty  as  tie 
was  obstinate ;  throwing  back  his  head  and  opening  an 
enormous  mouth,  he  made  me  signs  to  pour  in  curagoa. 
Finding  the  idea  original,  I  immediately  complied. 

"  What  capital  curagoa,"  the  man  said,  as  he  licked  his 
lips. 

This  seductive  exclamation  was  scarce  heard  ere  every 
mouth  was  open  and  heads  thrown  back ;  it  was  enough  to 
make  me  fly  in  terror.  Still,  not  to  leave  so  curious  a 
scene  incomplete,  I  took  a  watering  tour,  holding  the 
mouth  of  the  bottle  as  straight  as  I  could.  At  times,  the 
bottle  being  pushed  by  the  neighbors,  sent  the  liquor  over 
a  man's  coat,  but,  save  this  slight  inconvenience,  all  went 
on  famously,  and  I  fancied  I  had  fulfilled  the  rude  task  of 
quenching  the  thirst  of  my  audience.  Still,  I  heard  a  few 
more  appeals ;  and  a  glass  of  whisky  was  earnestly  im- 
plored by  one  of  the  men  who  had  thrust  his  head  between 
the  plank  and  the  boxes,  and  seemed  in  a  perfect  state  of 
collapse. 

My  son,  who  helped  me  on  the  stage,  and  was  one  of 
the  first  to  hear  this  request,  understood  all  the  longing 
the  poor  suppliant  felt;  hence  he  ran  on  the  stage  for  a 
glass,  which  I  filled,  and  he  carried  to  the  man. 

But  a  difficulty  suddenly  arose ;  the  claimant  and  his 
comrades  were  shut  up  in  their  pillory,  side  by  side,  and 
could  not  raise  their  arms.  My  son,  unthinkingly,  offered 
the  glass,  and  seeing  no  one  take  it,  was  about  to  carry  it 
back  on  the  stage ;  but  a  groan  made  him  turm  round, 
and,  by  the  patient's  air,  he  understood  he  was  begging 
him  to  stoop  down  and  place  the  glass  to  his  lips. 

This  delicate  operation  was  performed  with  considerable 
skill  on  both  sides,  and,  despite  the  laughter  of  the  public, 
each  of  the  pilloried  men  asked  the  same  service  in  turn. 


•   A  HUMAN  AVALANCHE.  351 

This  little  scene  appeared  to  have  calmed  the  ardor  of 
the  public ;  and  I  thought  it  possible  to  terminate  my 
trick  in  the  usual  way.  When  my  bottle  appears  ex- 
hausted, I  end  by  filling  an  enormous  glass  with  liquor, 
but  a  scene  then  began  which  I  had  been  far  from  expect- 
ing. 

Many  writers  have  described  the  saturnalia  produced  by 
the  frightful  distribution  of  food  and  wine  at  the  Restora- 
tion. Well,  these  orgies  were  respectable  meals  compared 
with  the  assault  attempted  to  reach  the  glass  I  held  in  my 
hand. 

A  human  avalanche  suddenly  rose  before  me,  and  from 
this  living  pyramid  emerged  two  hundred  hands  to  dispute 
their  prey,  while  a  hundred  mouths  were  opened  to  swal- 
low it. 

I  thought  it  high  time  to  beat  a  retreat,  in  the  fear  of 
being  buried  beneath  this  shapeless  mass.  It  was  impos- 
sible ;  behind  me  a  file  of  thirsty  drinkers  barred  my 
passage. 

The  danger  was  pressing,  for  the  pyramid  was  bending 
forward  to  reach  me,  and  might  lose  its  balance  at  any 
moment ;  the  cries  of  the  unhappy  beings  supporting  its 
weight  explained  the  dangerous  position  in  which  I  might 
soon  find  myself;  hence,  I  rushed  with  my  head  down 
through  the  mass,  and  reached  the  stage  in  time  to  notice 
the  curious  sight  of  a  falling  mountain. 

I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  the  cries,  shouts,  and  ap- 
plauses that  accompanied  this  fall,  while  the  victims  were 
loud  in  their  abuse,  and  found  no  way  of  getting  up,  save 
by  stepping  on  their  companions  in  misfortune.  The  noise 
was  atrocious. 

The  curtain  fell  on  this  strange  scene,  but  shouts  and 
clapping  were  immediately  heard :  "  The  conjurer !" 
Houdin  must  come  out  to  be  complimented. 


352  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

I  obeyed  this  order,  and  when  I  made  my  appearance, 
either  because  I  had  been  too  liberal  with  my  bottle,  or 
because,  as  I  would  sooner  think,  my  spectators  were 
satisfied  with  my  performance,  the  shouts  and  applause 
broke  out  in  such  a  formidable  manner  that  I  was  quite 
stupefied,  while  feeling  acutely  the  pleasure  they  produced 
me.  For  I  must  say  that  the  noise  of  the  hands  struck 
together,  though  so  trying  in  itself,  has  nothing  to  shock 
the  ear  of  a  performer ;  on  the  contrary,  the  more  deafen- 
ing it  becomes,  the  more  harmonious  it  appears  to  the 
recipient. 

The  following  performances  were  far  from  being  so 
tumultuous  as  the  first,  and  the  reason  is  very  simple. 
The  merchants  and  traders,  who  form  the  aristocracy  of 
Manchester,  having  heard  of  my  performances,  came  with 
the  families  to  witness  them,  and  their  presence  contri- 
buted to  keep  the  workmen  in  order.  The  house  assumed 
a  different  aspect,  and  henceforth  I  could  only  praise  the 
quietness  of  the  pit. 

Fifteen  consecutive  performances  had  not  exhausted  the 
curiosity  of  the  inhabitants,  and  I  could  certainly  have 
given  fifteen  more,  at  leastj  whan,  to  my  great  regret,  I 
was  obliged  to  make  way  for  two  celebrities  —  Jenny  Lind 
and  Roger  —  whom  Knowles  had  engaged  to  follow  my 
performance. 

Though  I  felt  vexed  at  throwing  such  a  chance  away, 
on  the  other  hand  I  was  glad  to  escape  as  soon  as  possible 
from  that  heavy  and  smoky  atmosphere,  which  makes  the 
industrial  capital  of  England  resemble  a  city  of  chimney- 
sweeps. I  could  not  accustom  my  lungs  to  inhale,  instead 
of  air,  the  flakes  of  soot  constantly  floating  about.  I  fell 
into  a  state  of  melancholy  almost  akin  to  spleen,  which 
did  not  abandon  me  till  I  reached  the  gay  city  of  Liver- 
pool, where  I  intended  to  remain  several  weeks. 


BUCKINGHAM  PALACE.  353 

I  was  at  that  time  at  the  height  of  my  fashion ;  my  per- 
formance began  with  applause  and  ended  with  famous  re- 
ceipts. I  need  only  add,  that,  after  performing  in  turn  at 
the  theatres  of  Liverpool,  Birmingham,  Worcester,  Chel- 
tenham, Bristol,  and  Exeter,  I  returned  to  London  to  give 
fifteen  performances  ere  I  started  for  France. 

A  few  days  after  my  return  to  St.  James's  Theatre,  the 
Queen,  bearing  in  mind  the  desire  she  had  expressed  at 
Fulham,  commanded  a  performance  at  Buckingham  Palace. 

This  invitation  being  most  agreeable,  I  willingly  ac- 
cepted it. 

At  eight  in  the  morning  of  the  appointed  day,  I  pro- 
ceeded to  the  royal  residence,  and  the  steward  of  the 
palace,  to  whom  I  was  directed,  led  me  to  the  place  se- 
lected for  my  performance.  It  was  a  long  and  magnifi- 
cent picture  gallery,  and  a  theatre  had  been  put  up,  on 
which  the  scenery  represented  a  saloon  in  the  Louis 
Quinze  style,  white  and  gold,  much  resembling  the  one  I 
had  at  St.  James's  Theatre. 

My  guide  then  showed  me  an  adjoining  dining-room, 
belonging,  he  said,  to  the  ladies  of  honor,  and  he  begged 
me  to  state  at  what  hour  I  should  like  to  breakfast. 

I  was  too  busy  to  think  about  eating,  for  I  had  my  per- 
formance to  prepare ;  however,  I  ordered  the  meal  for  one 
o'clock  at  any  risk,  and  set  to  work  directly. 

Aided  by  my  secretary  (a  species  of  factotum)  and  my 
two  boys,  who  helped  me  as  well  as  their  strength  per- 
mitted, I  managed  to  overcome  all  the  difficulties  produced 
by  the  provisional  arrangement  of  the  stage.  But  I  had 
not  finished  all  my  preparations  till  two  o'clock,  and  I  was 
almost  dying  of  inanition,  for,  less  fortunate  than  my 
companions,  I  had  eaten  nothing  the  whole  day.  Hence 
it  was  with  real  joy  I  led  the  route  to  the  dining-room. 

X 


354  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

As  the  performance  was  not  to  take  place  till  three,  I 
had  just  an  hour  to  recruit  my  strength. 

I  had  scarce  walked  a  dozen  steps,  when  I  heard  some 
one  calling  me.  It  was  a  palace  official  who  wanted  to 
speak  to  me. 

"There  will  be  a  ball,  sir,  in  this  gallery,"  he  said,  in 
excellent  French,  "after  your  performance,  and  conse- 
quently preparations  will  have  to  be  made  which  may  take 
more  time  than  has  been  allowed  for  them.  Hence,  the 
Queen  requests  you  to  begin  your  performance  an  hour 
sooner ;  she  is  quite  ready,  and  will  be  here  directly.' 

"  I  am  very  sorry  I  cannot  obey  her  Majesty's  com- 
mands," I  replied ;  "  my  preparations  are  not  yet  ended, 
and  I  must  add,  that " 

"  Monsieur  Robert-Houdin,"  the  officer  replied,  politely, 
but  with  all  the  coolness,  of  a  Briton,  "  such  are  her  Ma- 
jesty's orders,  and  I  can  say  no  more."  And  without 
awaiting  any  explanation,  he  bowed  to  me  and  retired. 

"We  shall  still  have  time  to  take  a  hasty  snack,"  I  said 
to  my  secretary,  "so  off  to  the  dining-room  as  quickly  as 
you  please." 

I  had  not  finished  the  sentence,  when  the  Queen,  Prince 
Albert  and  the  royal  family  entered  the  gallery,  followed 
by  a  numerous  suit. 

At  this  sight  I  had  not  the  courage  to  go  further ;  I 
returned,  and  armed  myself  with  resignation.  Protected 
by  the  curtain  that  concealed  me  from  the  spectators,  I 
hastily  made  my  few  remaining  preparations,  and  five 
minutes  later  I  received  the  order  to  begin. 

When  the  curtain  rose,  I  was  dazzled  at  the  sight  that 
met  my  gaze. 

Her  Majesty,  the  Prince  Consort,  the  Queen  Dowager, 
the  Duke  of  Cambridge  and  the  royal  children  occupied 


THE  COURT  JOURNAL.  355 

the  first  rank.  Behind  them  were  a  portion  of  the  Or- 
leans family ;  Avhile  in  the  rear  sat  the  highest  functiona- 
ries, among  whom  I  recognized  ambassadors  dressed  in 
their  national  costumes,  and  general  officers  covered  with 
brilliant  decorations..  All  the  ladies  were  in  ball  toilette, 
and  richly  adorned  with  jewels. 

A  wonderful  change  came  over  me  when  I  began  my 
performance  :  all  my  languor  had  been  suddenly  dispelled, 
and  I  felt  in  excellent  spirits. 

Still  this  change  can  be  easily  explained.  It  is  well 
known  that  a  performer  feels  no  suffering  while  on  the 
stage  ;  a  species  of  exaltation  suspends  all  feelings  foreign 
to  his  part,  and  hunger,  thirst,  cold,  or  heat,  even  illness 
itself,  is  forced  to  retreat  in  the  presence  of  this  excite- 
ment, though  it  takes  its  revenge  afterwards. 

This  slight  digression  was  necessary  to  explain  the 
spirits  I  felt  in  when  I  appeared  before  my  noble  audi- 
ence. 

Never,  I  believe,  did  I  throw  such  dash  and  boldness 
into  the  performance  of  my  experiments ;  never,  either, 
had  I  an  audience  which  appreciated  them  so  kindly. 

The  Queen  deigned  to  encourage  me  several  times  by 
flattering  remarks,  while  Prince  Albert,  ever  so  kind  to 
professionals,  heartily  clapped  his  hands. 

I  had  prepared  a  trick,  called  the  Bouquet  d  la  Heine. 
This  is  what  the  Court  Journal  says  of  it  when  describing 

my  performance : 

******* 

"  The  Queen  evinced  an  extreme  pleasure  in  these  ex- 
periments ;  but  the  one  which  seemed  to  strike  her  most 
was  the  Bouquet  d  la  Reine,  a  very  graceful  surprise,  and 
charmingly  apropos.  Her  Majesty  having  lent  her  glove 
to  M.  Robert-Houdin,  the  latter  immediately  produced 


356  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

from  it  a  bouquet,  which  soon  grew  so  large  that  it  could 
be  scarely  held  in  both  hands.  Finally,  this  bouquet, 
after  being  placed  in  a  vase,  and  bedewed  with  magic 
water,  was  transformed  into  a  garland,  in  which  the  flowers 
formed  the  word  VICTORIA. 

"  The  Queen  was  equally  astonished  at  the  surprising 
lucidity  of  M.  Robert-Houdin's  son,  in  the  experiment  of  the 
second-sight.  The  most  complicated  objects  had  been  pre- 
pared in  order  to  embarrass  and  foil  the  sagacity  of  the 
father  and  the  marvellous  faculty  of  the  son.  Both 
emerged  victoriously  from  this  intellectual  combat,  and 
defeated  every  scheme." 

After  the  performance,  the  same  officer  with  whom  I  had 
already  spoken  came  to  offer  me  the  thanks  of  the  Queen 
and  Prince  Albert.  The  Duchess  of  Orleans  had  also 
been  kind  enough  to  add  her  compliments  and  those  of  her 
family. 

So  soon  as  the  curtain  had  fallen,  and  I  was  no  longer 
supported  by  the  presence  of  my  audience,  I  felt  ready  to 
drop.  I  had  taken  a  seat,  and  could  hardly  rise  to  go 
and  enjoy  the  meal  which  I  stood  in  such  need  of. 

Still,  I  was  about  to  do  so,  when  I  was  roused  from  my 
exhaustion  by  the  appearance  of  a  large  body  of  workmen, 
who  had  come  to  take  down  the  theatre  in  all  speed  and 
prepare  the  gallery  for  the  ball. 

My  readers  can  judge  of  my  embarrassment  and  trouble 
when  I  found  I  must  pack  up  all  my  machinery  at  once, 
lest  it  might  be  broken. 

I  tried  to  protest  and  defer  the  execution  of  the  task, 
but  it  was  all  in  vain :  orders  had  been  given,  and  they 
must  be  obeyed.  Hence,  I  was  obliged  to  summon  up 
fresh  energy  to  finish  my  packing,  which  took  me  an  hour 
and  a  half. 


THE  WIZARD'S  REPAST.  857 

Six  o'clock  struck  when  all  was  finished.  I  had  taken 
no  food  for  exactly  four-and-twenty  hours. 

Leaning  on  my  manager  who  had  taken  the  precaution 
of  ordering  up  the  dinner,  I  dragged  myself  as  far  as  the 
dining-room. 

Twilight  had  commenced,  and  the  room  was  not  yet 
lighted,  and  it  was  with  some  difficulty  we  could  dis- 
tinguish a  table.  I  fell  rather  than  sat  down  upon  a  chair 
I  found  near  me,  and  while  my  son  was  ringing  for  lights, 
I  commenced  a  second-sight  performance  of  my  own.  I 
succeeded  famously  ;  I  laid  my  hand  on  a  fork,  and  prick- 
ing at  whatever  might  be  before  me,  found  something  at- 
tached to  the  instrument.  I  prudently  raised  the  object 
to  my  nose,  and,  satisfied  with  this  inspection,  I  took  a 
triumphant  bite. 

It  was  delicious ;  and  I  fancied  I  could  recognize  a  salmi 
of  partridge. 

I  made  a  second  exploring  tour  to  assure  myself  of  the 
truth,  and,  after  a  few  mouthfuls,  I  convinced  myself  I 
was  not  mistaken.  My  manager  and  boys  followed  my 
example,  and  set  to  work  manfully. 

It  seems  that  the  attendance  must  be  slow  in  royal 
houses,  for  before  the  lights  arrived  we  had  plenty  of  time 
to  grow  used  to  the  darkness. 

However,  this  meal,  through  its  originality,  became  a 
delightful  amusement,  and  I  had  seized  a  bottle  to  pour 
out  some  wine,  when  the  door  of  the  room  suddenly 
opened,  and  two  servants  came  in  bearing  candelabra. 
On  seeing  us  thus  seated  at  table  and  eating  in  the  coolest 
way,  they  nearly  fell  backwards  in  surprise.  I  am  per- 
suaded they  took  us  at  the  moment  for  real  sorcerers,  for 
we  had  great  difficulty  in  inducing  them  to  remain  in  the 
room  and  wait  on  us. 


358  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

We  then  took  our  ease.  The  table  was  well  served, 
the  wines  were  excellent,  and  we  could  rest  from  the 
fatigues  and  emotions  of  the  day.  At  the  end  of  the  din- 
ner the  palace  steward  paid  us  a  visit,  and  on  hearing  of 
my  misfortunes,  he  expressed  his  deep  regret.  The  Queen, 
he  assured  me,  would  be  the  more  vexed,  if  she  heard  of 
it,  because  she  had  given  the  strictest  orders  that  I  should 
want  for  nothing  in  her  palace. 

I  replied,  that  I  was  amply  repaid  for  a  few  moments 
of  pain  by  the  satisfaction  I  felt  at  having  been  called  to 
perform  before  his  gracious  sovereign.  And  this  was,  in- 
deed, the  truth. 


A  TOUR  IN  THE  PROVINCE.  359 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

An  Optimist  Manager — Three  Spectators  in  a  Boom — A  Magical  Col- 
lation—  The  Colchester  Public  and  the  Nuts — I  return  to  France — I 
give  up  my  Theatre — A  Farewell  Tour — I  retire  to  St.  Qervais — 
An  Academician's  Predictions. 

A  SHORT  time  after  this  performance  my  engagement 
with  Mitchell  terminated. 

Instead  of  returning  to  France,  as  I  should  much  have 
desired  after  so  lengthened  an  absence,  I  thought  it  better 
to  continue  my  excursions  in  the  English  provinces  till 
the  end  of  September,  when  I  hoped  to  reopen  my  theatre 
at  Paris. 

Consequently,  I  drew  up  an  itinerary,  in  which  the  first 
station  would  be  Cambridge,  celebrated  for  its  university ; 
and  set  out. 

Possibly  the  reader  may  feel  no  inclination  to  follow  me 
on  this  tour,  but  he  may  be  assured  I  will  not  drag  him 
after  me,  especially  as  my  second  passage  through  Eng- 
land presents  hardly  any  details  worth  mentioning  here. 
I  will  content  myself  with  recounting  a  few  incidents,  and 
among  them  a  small  adventure  that  happened  to  me,  as  it 
may  serve  for  a  lesson  for  all  professionals,  that  it  is  dan- 
gerous both  to  their  self-esteem  and  interests  to  drain 
public  curiosity  too  deep  in  the  various  places  whither  the 
hope  of  good  receipts  attracts  them. 


360  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

I  intended  to  go  straight  from  London  to  Cambridge, 
but,  half  way,  I  took  a  fancy  to  stop  and  give  a  few  per- 
formances at  Hertford,  a  town  containing  some  ten  thou- 
sand people. 

My  two  first  performances  were  most  successful,  but  on 
the  third,  seeing  that  the  number  of  spectators  had  greatly 
fallen  off,  I  decided  on  giving  no  more. 

My  manager  argued  against  this  resolution,  and  offered 
me  reasons  which  certainly  had  some  value. 

"I  assure  you,  sir,"  he  said,  "that  nothing  is  spoken 
of  in  the  town  but  your  performance.  Every  one  is  asking 
if  you  are  going  to  perform  to-morrow,  and  two  young 
gentlemen  have  already  begged  me  to  keep  them  places 
if  you  intend  to  remain  for  to-morrow." 

Ge'net,  my  manager,  was  certainly  the  best  fellow  in  the 
world ;  but  I  ought  to  have  distrusted  his  counsels,  know- 
ing, as  I  did,  his  disposition  to  look  at  the  bright  side  of 
everything.  He  was  the  incarnation  of  opitimism,  and  the 
calculations  he  made  about  this  performance  went  far  be- 
yond those  of  the  inkstand  inventor.  To  hear  him  talk, 
we  should  have  to  double  the  price  of  places,  and  increase 
our  staff  to  keep  back  the  crowd  that  would  rush  to  see  me. 

While  jesting  Ge'net  on  his  exaggerated  ideas,  I  still 
allowed  him  to  send  out  the  bills  for  the  performance  he 
BO  much  desired. 

The  next  evening,  at  half-past  seven,  I  went,  according 
to  my  usual  custom,  to  order  the  box-office  to  be  opened, 
and  the  public  allowed  admission.  The  performance  would 
commence  at  eight  precisely. 

I  found  my  manager  quite  alone  —  not  a  soul  had  ar- 
rived yet.  Still,  that  did  not  prevent  him  greeting  me 
with  a  radiant  air  —  though  that  was  his  normal  condition. 

"No  one  has  yet  come  to  the  theatre,"  he  said,  rubbing 


AN  OPTIMIST  361 

his  hands,  as  if  giving  me  first-rate  intelligence;  "but 
that  is  a  good  sign." 

"  The  deuce  it  is !  Come,  my  dear  G£net,  I  must  have 
that  proved." 

"  It  is  easy  enough  to  understand.  You  must  have  no- 
ticed, sir,  that  at  our  former  performances  we  only  had 
the  country  gentry." 

"  Nothing  proves  it  was  so ;  still,  I  will  allow  it.  Now 
go  on." 

"  Well,  it  is  very  simple.  The  tradespeople  have  not 
come  to  see  you  yet,  and  I  expect  them  to-night.  They 
are  always  so  busy,  that  they  usually  defer  a  pleasure  till 
the  last  moment.  Have  patience,  and  you  will  soon  see 
the  rush  we  shall  have  to  contend  against." 

And  he  looked  towards  the  entrance  door  like  a  man 
perfectly  convinced  that  his  predictions  would  be  fulfilled. 

We  had  still  half  an  hour  —  more  than  sufficient  to  fill 
the  room  —  so  I  waited.  But  this  half-hour  passed  in  vain 
expectation.  Not  a  soul  came  to  the  box-office. 

"It  is  now  eight,"  I  said,  drawing  out  my  watch,  "and 
no  spectators  have  arrived.  What  do  you  say  to  that, 
Ge^et?" 

"Oh,  sir!  your  watch  is  too  fast  —  I  am  sure  of  it 
for " 

My  manager  was  about  to  support  his  allegation  by 
some  proof  drawn  from  his  brain,  when  the  town-hall  clock 
struck.  Gdnet,  finding  his  reasons  exhausted,  contented 
himself  with  silence,  while  casting  a  despairing  glance  to- 
wards the  door. 

At  length,  I  saw  his  face  grow  purple  with  delight. 

"Ah!  I  said  so,"  he  exclaimed,  pointing  to  two  young 
men  coming  towards  us.  The  public  are  beginning  to 
arrive.  They  doubtlessly  mistook  the  hour.  Come,  every 
man  to  his  post !" 


362  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

Genet's  joy  did  not  last  long,  for  he  soon  recognized  in 
these  visitors  the  two  young  gentlemen  who  had  taken 
their  places  the  previous  day. 

"You  have  kept  our  seats?"  they  said  to  the  optimist, 
as  they  hurried  in. 

"  Yes,  gentlemen,  yes ;  you  can.  go  in,"  Ge'net  replied, 
making  an  imperceptible  grimace.  And  he  led  them  in 
complacently,  while  striving  to  explain  the  emptiness  of 
the  room  by  saying  it  was  only  momentary.  He  had 
hardly  returned  to  the  box-office,  when  a  gentleman  of  a 
certain  age  hurried  up  the  steps,  and  rushed  towards  the 
pay  place  with  a  haste  my  previous  success  probably  jus- 
tified. 

"  Is  there  any  room  left?"  he  asked,  in  a  panting  voice. 

My  poor  Ge"net  did  not  know  how  to  reply  to  this  ques- 
tion, which  seemed  a  jest ;  he,  therefore,  merely  muttered 
one  of  those  common-place  phrases  usually  employed  to 
gain  time. 

"  Well,  sir,  to  tell  you  the  truth  —  I  should  say " 

"I  know  —  I  know:  there  are  no  places  left.  I  ex- 
pected it.  But  be  kind  enough  to  let  me  go  in,  and  I  will 
find  some  corner  to  stand  in." 

"  But,  sir,  allow  me  to  tell  you " 

"  No  matter." 

"  But  if,  on  the  contrary " 

"  All  the  better.  There,  give  me  a  stall-ticket,  and  I 
will  see  if  I  can  find  room  in  the  passage." 

Being  at  the  end  of  his  arguments,  G£net  supplied  the 
ticket. 

You  can  imagine  the  surprise  of  the  eager  visitor  when, 
on  entering  the  house,  he  found  that  he  formed  in  his  own 
person  exactly  a  third  of  the  audience. 

For  my  own  part,  I  soon  made  up  my  mind.     After 


AN  AUDIENCE  AT  LAST.  863 

compounding  with  my  conscience,  by  granting  the  usual 
quarter  of  an  hour's  grace  to  the  laggards,  and  seeing  no 
one  come,  I  informed  my  three  spectators  that,  being  only 
anxious  to  be  agreeable  to  them,  I  would  perform. 

This  unexpected  news  produced  a  triple  hurrah  in  the 
house  in  the  shape  of  thanks. 

My  orchestra  consisted  of  eight  amateurs  of  the  town ; 
and  these  gentlemen,  as  a  compliment  to  my  French  origin, 
always  played  as  overture  the  "  Girondins"  and  the  "Mar- 
seillaise," with  the  assistance  of  the  big  drum,  and  never 
failed  to  terminate  the  performance  with  "  God  save  the 
Queen." 

The  patriotic  introduction  over,  I  began  my  perform- 
ance. 

My  audience  were  collected  on  the  first  row  of  stalls,  so 
that,  in  order  to  address  my  explanations  to  them,  I  should 
have  had  to  keep  my  head  constantly  down,  which  would 
have  eventually  become  troublesome.  Hence  I  determined 
to  look  round  the  house,  and  address  the  benches  just  as 
if  they  were  well  covered. 

For  their  part,  my  audience  made  all  possible  row  to 
prove  their  satisfaction.  They  stamped,  applauded,  shout- 
ed, so  as  almost  to  make  me  believe  the  house  full. 

The  whole  performance  was  a  mutual  exchange  of  com- 
pliments, and  the  spectators  saw  the  last  of  my  tricks 
arrive  with  considerable  regret.  This,  however,  was  not 
announced  on  my  bills,  for  I  reserved  it  as  the  best  of  my 
surprises. 

"Gentlemen,"!  said  to  my  audience,  "as  I  require 
three  persons  to  assist  me  in  performing  this  trick,  will 
any  gentlemen  present  have  the  kindness  to  come  on  the 


At  this  comic  invitation  the  public  rose  en  masse,  and 
obligingly  placed  themselves  at  my  disposal. 


364  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

After  my  three  assistants  had  promised  to  stand  at  the 
front  of  the  stage  and  not  look  round,  I  gave  each  an 
empty  glass,  announcing  that  it  would  be  filled  with  excel- 
lent punch  so  soon  as  they  expressed  the  wish,  and  I  added 
that  to  facilitate  the  performance,  they  must  repeat  after 
me  a  few  cabalistic  words  borrowed  from  the  enchanter 
Merlin. 

This  jest  was  only  proposed  in  order  to  gain  time,  for 
while  we  were  performing  it  with  bursts  of  laughter,  a 
change  was  being  carried  out  behind  my  kind  assistants. 
The  table  on  which  I  did  my  tricks  had  been  removed, 
and  another  brought  forward  on  which  an  excellent  supper 
was  spread,  and  a  bowl  of  punch  crackled  in  the  centre. 

Ge'net,  clothed  in  blgck  and  a  white  cravat,  and  armed 
with  a  spoon,  was  stimulating  a  spectral  flame,  and  when 
my  assistants  expressed  a  wish  to  see  their  glasses  filled 
with  punch,  he  said,  in  his  most  solemn  voice, 

"  Turn  round,  and  your  wishes  will  be  accomplished." 

My  musicians  had  been  spectators  of  this  little  scene, 
so  I  begged  them  to  join  us  and  try  the  virtues  of  my  in- 
exhaustible bowl.  This  invitation  was  joyfully  accepted, 
the  table  was  surrounded,  the  glasses  were  filled  and  emp- 
tied, and  we  passed  two  agreeable  hours  in  performing  this 
experiment. 

Owing  to  the  prodigality  of  my  "  inexhaustible  bowl  of 
punch,"  my  guests  were  all  affected  by  a  tender  expansion. 
They  almost  embraced  on  parting;  however,  they  con- 
tented themselves  with  shaking  hands  and  vowing  an  un- 
dying friendship. 

The  instruction  to  be  drawn  from  this  anecdote  is  that, 
in  offering  a  farewell  to  the  public,  you  should  not  wait 
till  there  are  none  left  to  receive  it. 

On  leaving  Hertford,  I  went  to  Cambridge,  thence  to 


CUSTOM  AT  COLCHESTER.  365 

Bury  St.  Edmunds,  Ipswich -and  Colchester,  always  taking 
receipts  proportionate  to  the  importance  of  the  towns.  I 
have  only  three  souvenirs  of  those  five  towns :  the  failure 
at  Hertford,  the  enthusiastic  reception  from  the  Cambridge 
students,  and  the  nuts  at  Colchester. 

But,  it  will  be  asked,  what  connexion  can  there  be  be- 
tween nuts  and  a  magical  performance.  A  word  will  ex- 
plain the  fact  to  the  reader,  and  all  the  tribulations  this 
fruit  caused  me. 

It  is  the  custom  at  Colchester  that  when  a  body  goes  to 
the  theatre  he  fills  his  pockets  with  nuts.  These  are 
cracked  and  eaten  during  the  performance  as  a  species  of 
refreshment.  Men  and  women  both  suffer  from  this  crack- 
ing mania,  so  that  a  rolling  fire  is  kept  up  through  the 
house,  often  powerful  enough  to  drown  the  voice. 

Nothing  affected  my  nerves  so  much  as  this  incessant 
cracking ;  my  first  performance  suffered  from  it,  and  de- 
spite my  efforts  to  master  myself,  I  went  through  the 
whole  performance  in  a  state  of  irritation.  I  consented, 
however,  to  perform  a  second  time,  but  the  manager  could 
not  induce  me  to  promise  a  third.  Although  he  assured 
me  that  his  actors  had  grown  quite  accustomed  to  this 
strange  music,  and  that  even  a  minor  actor  might  often 
be  seen  on  the  stage  calmly  cracking  a  nut  while  awaiting 
the  reply,  I  could  not  stand  it  any  longer,  and  left  the 
town. 

Most  assuredly,  the  theatres  in  the  smaller  English 
towns  are  not  equal  to  those  in  the  cities. 

At  Colchester  my  tour  was  to  end,  and  I  was  about 
starting  for  France,  when  Knowles,  the  Manchester  direc- 
tor, remembering  my  success  at  his  theatre,  proposed  to 
me  to  take  a  trip  with  him  through  Ireland  and  Scotland. 
We  had  then  reached  the  month  of  June,  1849,  when 


366  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

Paris  was  more  than  ever  agitated  by  political  questions ; 
and  theatres  only  existed  in  France  as  memorials  of  the 
past.  I  did  not  waste  much  time  in  forming  a  decision  ;  I 
started  with  my  English  manager. 

Our  excursion  lasted  no  less  than  four  months,  and  I 
did  not  step  on  French  soil  again  till  the  end  of  October. 

Need  I  describe  the  delight  with  which  I  presented  my- 
self once  more  before  a  Parisian  audience,  whose  kind 
patronage  I  had  not  forgotten  ?  Those  professional  men 
who,  like  myself,  have  been  long  absent  from  Paris,  will 
understand  it,  for  they  know  nothing  is  so  sweet  to  the 
heart  as  the  applause  given  by  a  man's  fellow-citizens. 

Unfortunately,  when  I  recommenced  my  performances, 
I  noticed  with  sorrow  the  change  which  had  taken  place 
in  my  health :  the  performances  which  I  formerly  went 
through  with  no  fatigue,  now  caused  me  a  painful  state  of 
exhaustion. 

It  was  easy  to  find  a  reason  for  this  disagreeable  change ; 
fatigue,  the  incessant  thought  connected  with  my  perform- 
ances, and  still  more  the  foggy  atmosphere  of  England, 
had  exhausted  my  strength.  My  life  had  been  in  some 
degree  used  up  during  my  emigration.  I  should  require 
a  lengthened  rest  to  restore  it,  and  I  could  not  think  of  it 
at  this  period,  the  best  part  of  the  season.  I  could  only 
take  precautions  for  the  future,  in  case  I  should  find  my- 
self suddenly  compelled  by  my  health  to  stop ;  so  I  de- 
cided on  educating  a  pupil  to  take  my  place  in  case  of 
need,  and  whose  labor  might  assist  me  in  the  meanwhile. 

A  young  man  of  pleasing  exterior,  and  whose  talent  I 
was  acquainted  with,  seemed  to  offer  the  conditions  I  re- 
quired. My  proposals  suited  him,  and  he  immediately 
joined  me.  The  future  sleight-of-hand  professor  evinced 
great  aptitude  and  zeal  in  learning  my  lessons.  I  em- 


A  WELCOME  REST.  367 

ployed  him  in  a  short  time  to  prepare  my  experiments, 
then  he  aided  me  in  the  management  of  my  theatre,  and 
when  the  summer  of  1850  arrived,  instead  of  closing  my 
rooms  as  usual,  I  continued  to  send  out  my  bills;  the 
only  change  was  that  Hamilton's  name  was  substituted  for 
mine. 

Considering  his  short  period  of  study,  my  provisional 
substitute  could  not  be  yet  very  expert ;  still,  he  pleased, 
and  the  public  were  satisfied.  During  this  period  I  en- 
joyed in  the  country  a  repose  that  had  been  long  desired. 

A  man  who  has  made  a  long  journey  never  feels  the  fa- 
tigue so  acutely  as  when  he  proposes  to  continue  his  jour- 
ney after  a  few  moments  of  rest.  This  was  what  I  expe- 
rienced when,  my  holiday  being  ended,  I  was  obliged  to 
leave  the  country  to  begin  again  the  feverish  existence  of 
a  theatre.  I  never  felt  such  lassitude;  never  had  I  a 
greater  desire  to  enjoy  perfect  liberty,  to  renounce  those 
fatigues  of  an  appointed  hour,  which  may  be  justly  called 
the  collar  of  misery. 

At  this  word,  I  see  many  of  my  readers  start.  u  Why," 
they  will  say,  "  thus  call  a  labor  whose  object  is  to  as- 
tonish an  audience,  and  the  result  to  gain  honor  and 
profit?" 

I  find  myself  compelled  to  prove  the  justice  of  the  ex- 
pression. 

The  reader  will  easily  understand  that  the  fatigue,  pre- 
occupation and  responsibility  attached  to  a  magical  per- 
formance do  not  prevent  the  conjurer  being  subjected  to 
the  ordinary  sufferings  of  humanity.  Now,  whatever  may 
be  the  nature  of  his  sufferings  or  his  grief,  he  must,  at  an 
appointed  hour  each  night,  hide  them  in  his  bosom,  and 
assume  the  mask  of  happiness  and  health. 

This  is,  in  itself,  a  painful  task,  but,  believe  me,  reader, 


368  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

it  is  not  all ;  he  must  —  and  this  is  applicable  to  all  pro- 
fessionals— under  penalty  of  ruin,  enliven,  animate  and 
excite  the  public,  or,  in  other  words,  give  them  pleasure 
for  their  money. 

Can  this  be  always  equally  easy  ?  In  truth,  the  posi- 
tion artists  hold  would  be  intolerable,  did  not  they  find 
in  the  sympathy  and  applause  of  the  public  a  gentle  recom- 
pense which  makes  them  forget  the  minor  miseries  of  life. 

I  may  say  it  with  pride,  to  the  last  moment  of  my  artist 
life  I  only  met  with  sympathy  and  kindness  ;  but  the  more 
I  strove  to  render  myself  ever  worthy  of  them,  the  more 
I  felt  my  strength  failing  me,  and  the  more,  too,  increased 
my  desire  to  live  in  retirement  and  freedom. 

At  last,  in  January,  1852,  judging  Hamilton  fit  to  suc- 
ceed me,  I  decided  on  giving  up  my  establishment  to  him, 
and  in  order  that  my  theatre,  the  fruit  of  my  labors,  might 
remain  in  the  family,  two  contracts  were  signed  ;  and  on 
the  same  day  my  pupil  became  my  brother-in-law  and  my 
successor. 

Still,  however  desirous  an  actor  may  be  of  retiring  into 
private  life,  he  very  rarely  renounces  at  once  and  for  ever 
the  applause  which  has  become  an  agreeable  stimulant  for 
him.  Hence,  no  surprise  will  be  felt  on  learning  that, 
after  a  few  months'  rest,  I  proposed  to  give  a  few  more 
performances,  as  a  final  parting  from  the  public. 

As  I  had  not  yet  visited  Germany,  I  proceeded  to  the 
banks  of  the  Rhine.  Desiring  no  unnecessary  fatigue,  I 
resolved  to  reserve  to  myself  the  choice  of  the  places 
where  I  would  perform.  I  therefore  stopped,  in  prefer- 
ence, at  those  festal  places  called  "Baths,"  and  visited  in 
turn  Baden,  Wiesbaden,  Homburg,  Aix-la-Chapelle,  and 
Spa.  Nearly  each  of  my  performances  was  honored  by 
the  presence  of  one  or  more  of  the  princes  regnant  of  the 
Germanic  Confederation. 


MY  VISIT  TO  PRUSSIA.  369 

It  was  my  intention  to  return  to  France  after  my  per- 
formances at  Spa,  but,  at  the  request  of  M.  Engel,  mana- 
ger of  a  theatre  at  Berlin,  I  retraced  my  steps,  and  started 
for  the  capital  of  Prussia. 

I  had  made  a  six  weeks'  engagement  with  M.  Engel ; 
but  my  success,  and  the  excellent  terms  on  which  I  stood 
with  my  manager,  induced  me  to  prolong  it  for  three 
months.  I  could  not  have  taken  a  more  brilliant  leave  of 
the  public :  for,  probably,  I  never  saw  greater  crowds  run 
after  my  performances.  Thus  the  reception  I  obtained 
from  the  Berliner  will  ever  remain  one  of  my  pleasantest 
reminiscences. 

From  Berlin  I  proceeded  straight  to  the  neighborhood 
of  Blois,  to  the  retreat  I  had  selected. 

Whatever  might  be  my  satisfaction  in  enjoying  the  free- 
dom I  had  so  long  desired,  it  would  soon  have  undergone 
the  fate  common  to  all  our  pleasures,  and  have  grown  flat 
by  the  mere  effect  of  enjoyment,  had  I  not  reserved  for 
these  blessed  hours  of  leisure  studies  in  which  I  hoped  to 
find  a  perennial  source  of  amusement.  After  gaining  a 
fortune  by  labors  unjustly  regarded  as  futile,  I  was  about 
to  devote  myself  to  serious  researches,  as  I  had  been  for- 
merly advised  by  a  member  of  the  Institute. 

The  circumstances  to  which  I  allude  date  back  to  the 
Exposition  of  1844,  when  I  submitted  my  automata  and 
mechanical  curiosities. 

The  jury  entrusted  with  the  examination  of  mechanical 
instruments  and  designs  had  come  to  my  productions,  and 
I  had  repeated  the  little  performance  I  had  given  a  few 
days  previously  in  the  presence  of  Louis  Philippe. 

After  listening  with  interest  to  the  details  of  the  nu- 
merous difficulties  I  had  to  overcome  in  making  my  auto- 
mata, one  of  the  members  of  the  jury  said  to  me : 

Y 


370  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

"  It  is  a  great  pity,  Monsieur  Robert-Houdin,  that  you 
did  not  apply  the  talent  you  have  evinced  in  fancy  objects 
to  serious  labors." 

This  criticism  wounded  me  the  more,  because  at  that 
period  I  considered  nothing  superior  to  my  works,  and  in 
my  fairest  dreams  of  the  future  I  desired  no  greater  glory 
than  that  of  the  skillful  inventor  of  the  "  automaton  duck." 

"Sir,"  I  replied,  in  a  tone  that  betrayed  my  pique,  "I 
know  no  works  more  serious  than  those  which  give  a  man  an 
honest  livelihood.  Still,  I  am  ready  to  change  my  views, 
if  you  give  me  the  same  advice  after  you  have  heard  me. 

"  At  the  period  when  I  devoted  myself  to  chronometers, 
I  hardly  earned  enough  to  live  upon ;  at  present,  I  have 
four  workmen  to  help  me  in  making  my  automata ;  and  as 
the  least  skillful  among  them  earns  six  francs  a  day,  you 
can  easily  form  an  idea  what  I  earn  myself. 

"Now,  sir,  I  ask  you,  if  I  ought  to  return  to  my  old 
trade  ?" 

My  critic  was  silent,  but  another  member  of  the  jury 
coming  up  to  me,  said,  in  a  low  voice, 

"Go  on,  Monsieur  Robert-Houdin  —  go  on;  I  am  con- 
vinced that  your  ingenious  works,  after  leading  you  to 
success,  will  conduct  you  straight  to  useful  discoveries." 

"Monsieur  le  Baron  Se'guier,"  I  replied,  in  the  same 
key,  "I  thank  you  for  your  encouraging  prediction,  and 
will  do  my  best  to  prove  its  correctness."* 

I  have  followed  the  advice  of  the  illustrious  savant,  and 
find  myself  all  the  better  for  it. 

*  This  slight  incident  did  not  prevent  the  jury  granting  me  a  silver 
medal  for  my  automata.  Eleven  years  later,  at  the  Universal  Exhibi- 
tion of  1855,  I  received  a  medal  of  the  first  class  for  new  applications  of 
electricity  to  mechanism. 


A  TRIP  TO  ALGERIA.  371 


CHAPTER    XX. 

Travels  in  Algeria — Convocation  of  the  Chieftains — Performances  be- 
fore the  Arabs — A  Kabyle  rendered  powerless — Invulnerability — A 
Moor  disappears — Panic  and  Flight  of  the  Audience — Reconciliation 
— The  Sect  of  Aissaoua — Their  pretended  Miracles. 

I  HAVE,  then,  reached  the  object  of  all  my  hopes :  I 
have  bidden  an  eternal  farewell  to  professional  life,  and 
from  my  retirement  I  wave  my  hand  in  parting  salutation 
to  my  kind  and  obliging  patrons.  Henceforth  I  shall 
know  no  care  or  anxiety;  free  and  tranquil,  I  am  about 
to  devote  myself  to  my  peaceful  studies,  and  enjoy  the 
pleasantest  existence  man  ever  had  on  earth. 

I  was  busily  forming  my  plans  of  happiness,  when,  one 
day,  I  received  a  letter  from  Colonel  de  Neveu,  head  of 
the  political  office  at  Algiers.  This  distinguished  func- 
tionary begged  me  to  proceed  to  our  colony,  and  give  my 
performances  before  the  principal  chieftains  of  the  Arab 
tribes. 

This  invitation  reached  me  in  the  full  of  my  honey- 
moon, if  I  may  employ  the  expression.  Scarce  recovered 
from  the  fatigues  of  my  journey,  I  was  imbibing  deep 
draughts  of  happiness,  and  it  would  have  been  a  heavy 
sacrifice  to  dispel  the  charm  so  soon.  Hence,  I  expressed 
to  Colonel  de  Neveu  my  regret  at  not  being  able  to  accept 
his  invitation. 

The  colonel  noted  down  my  excuses,  and,  the  following 
year,  reminded  me  of  them.  It  was  in  1855 ;  but  I  had 


372  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

presented  at  the  Universal  Exhibition  several  new  appli- 
cations of  electricity  to  mechanism,  and  having  learned 
that  the  jury  considered  me  worthy  a  reward,  I  would  not 
quit  Paris  till  I  had  received  it.  Such  was,  at  least,  the 
motive  on  which  I  based  a  new  refusal,  accompanied  by 
my  regret. 

But  the  colonel  kept  these  excuses  still  in  mind,  and  in 
June,  1856,  he  presented  them  to  me  like  a  bill  to  be  met. 
This  time  I  had  exhausted  my  excuses,  and  though  it  cost 
me  much  to  quit  my  retreat  and  brave  the  caprices  of  the 
Mediterranean  in  the  worst  month  of  the  year,  I  decided 
on  going. 

It  was  settled  that  I  should  reach  Algiers  by  the  next 
27th  of  September,  the  day  on  which  the  great  fetes  an- 
nually offered  by  the  capital  of  Algeria  to  the  Arabs 
would  commence. 

I  must  say  that  I  was  much  influenced  in  my  determi- 
nation by  the  knowledge  that  my  mission  to  Algeria  had 
a  quasi -political  character.  I,  a  simple  conjurer,  was 
proud  of  being  able  to  render  my  country  a  service. 

It  is  known  that  the  majority  of  revolts  which  have  to 
be  suppressed  in  Algeria  are  excited  by  intriguers,  who 
say  they  are  inspired  by  the  Prophet,  and  are  regarded  by 
the  Arabs  as  envoys  of  God  on  earth  to  deliver  them  from 
the  oppression  of  the  Roumi  (Christians). 

These  false  prophets  and  holy  Marabouts,  who  are  no 
more  sorcerers  than  I  am,  and  indeed  even  less  so,  still 
contrive  to  influence  the  fanaticism  of  their  co-religionists 
by  tricks  as  primitive  as  are  the  spectators  before  whom 
they  are  performed. 

The  government  was,  therefore,  anxious  to  destroy  their 
pernicious  influence,  and  reckoned  on  me  to  do  so.  They 
hoped,  with  reason,  by  the  aid  of  my  experiments,  to 


LIFE  IN  AFRICA.  378 

prove  to  the  Arabs  that  the  tricks  of  their  Marabouts  were 
mere  child's  play,  and  owing  to  their  simplicity  could  not 
be  done  by  an  envoy  from  Heaven,  which  also  led  us  very 
naturally  to  show  them  that  we  are  their  superiors  in 
everything,  and,  as  for  sorcerers,  there  are  none  like  the 
French. 

Presently  I  will  show  the  success  obtained  by  these 
skillful  tactics. 

Three  months  were  to  elapse  between  the  day  of  my 
acceptance  and  that  of  my  departure,  which  I  employed 
in  arranging  a  complete  arsenal  of  my  best  tricks,  and 
left  St.  Gervais  on  the  10th  of  September. 

I  will  give  no  account  of  my  passage,  further  than  to 
say  no  sooner  was  I  at  sea  than  I  wished  I  had  arrived, 
and,  after  thirty-six  hours'  navigation,  I  greeted  the  capi- 
tal of  our  colony  with  indescribable  delight. 

I  was  expected ;  an  officer  came  off  in  an  elegant  boat 
and  took  me  to  the  Hotel  d' Orient,  where  a  handsome 
suite  of  rooms  was  retained  for  me. 

The  government  had  behaved  nobly,  for  I  was  lodged 
like  a  prince.  From  the  window  of  my  sitting-room  I 
could  survey  the  roads  of  Algiers,  and  the  prospect  was 
only  bounded  by  the  horizon.  The  sea  is  always  lovely 
when  seen  from  a  window ;  thus  each  morning  I  admired 
it,  and  pardoned  its  past  slight  insults. 

From  my  hotel  I  also  gazed  on  the  magnificent  Govern- 
ment-square, planted  with  orange  trees,  such  as  cannot  be 
seen  in  France.  They  were  at  this  season  laden  with 
flowers  and  perfectly  ripe  fruit. 

Mme.  Robert-Houdin  and  myself  delighted  in  sitting 
beneath  their  shade  at  nightfall  and  eating  an  ice  before 
the  doorway  of  an  Algerian  Tortoni,  while  inhaling  the 
perfumed  breeze  borne  to  us  from  the  sea.  Next  to  this 


374  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

pleasure,  nothing  interested  us  so  much  as  observing  the 
immense  variety  of  persons  moving  around  us. 

The  five  quarters  of  the  world  had  sent  their  represen- 
tatives to  Algeria  :  there  were  French,  Spainards,  Maltese, 
Italians,  Germans,  Swiss,  Prussians,  Belgians,  Portuguese, 
Poles,  Russians,  English  and  Americans,  all  forming  a 
portion  of  the  population  of  Algeria.  Add  to  these  the 
different  Arabic  types,  such  as  Moors,  Kabyles,  Koulougly, 
Biskri,  Mozabites,  Negroes,  Arab  Jews,  &c.,  and  an  idea 
may  be  formed  of  the  sight  unrolled  before  our  eyes. 

When  I  arrived  at  Algiers,  M.  de  Neveu  told  me  that 
as  a  portion  of  Kabylia  had  revolted,  the  marshal-governor 
had  started  with  an  expeditionary  corps  to  suppress  it. 
In  consequence  of  this,  the  festes  to  which  the  Arab  chiefs 
were  to  be  invited  were  deferred  for  a  month,  and  my 
performances  put  off  for  the  same  period. 

"  I  have  now  to  ask  you,"  the  colonel  added,  "if  you 
will  sign  this  new  engagement?" 

"Mon  colonel!"  I  replied,  in  a  jocular  tone,  "I  con- 
sider myself  in  military  employ.  As  I  depend  on  the 
governor,  I  will  be  faithful  to  my  post,  whatever  may 
happen." 

"Very  good,  M.  Robert-Houdin,"  the  colonel  said  with 
a  laugh ;  you  behave  like  a  true  French  soldier,  and  the 
colony  will  owe  you  thanks  for  it.  At  the  same  time,  we 
will  try  to  make  your  service  in  Algeria  as  light  as  possi- 
ble. We  have  given  orders  at  your  hotel  that  madame 
and  yourself  may  have  no  cause  to  regret  the  comfort  you 
left  to  come  here."  (I  have  forgotten  to  say  that,  in 
signing  my  engagement,  I  stipulated  that  Mme.  Houdin 
should  accompany  me.)  "  If,  while  awaiting  your  official 
performances,  you  might  like  to  employ  your  leisure  even- 
ings at  the  town  theatre,  the  governor  places  it  at  your 


A  WELCOME  DELAY.  375 

service  thrice  a  week,  the  other  days  belonging  to  the 
operatic  company." 

This  proposition  suited  me  admirably,  and  I  saw  three 
advantages  in  it :  the  first,  to  get  my  hand  in,  for  I  had 
left  the  stage  for  two  years ;  the  second,  to  try  the  effect 
of  my  experiments  on  the  town  Arabs;  the  third,  to 
pocket  a  very  welcome  sum  of  money.  I  accepted ;  but 
when  I  offered  my  thanks  to  M.  de  Neveu,  he  said, 

"  It  is  our  place  to  thank  you,  for,  by  giving  perform- 
ances at  Algiers  during  the  Kabylian  expedition,  you 
render  us  a  great  service." 

"  How,  colonel?" 

"  By  employing  the  minds  of  the  Algerines,  we  prevent 
them  speculating  on  the  eventualities  of  the  campaign, 
which  might  be  very  injurious  to  the  government." 

"  That  being  so,  I  will  set  to  work  at  once." 

The  colonel  started  the  next  day  to  join  the  marshal, 
having  previously  handed  me  over  to  the  civil  authorities ; 
that  is  to  say,  he  had  introduced  me  to  M.  de  Guiroye, 
mayor  of  the  town,  who  displayed  extreme  kindness  in 
facilitating  the  arrangements  for  my  performances. 

It  might  be  reasonably  supposed  that,  owing  to  the  high 
patronage  that  supported  me,  I  need  only  follow  a  path 
hestrewn  with  flowers,  to  use  the  language  of  the  poets. 
But  it  was  not  so :  I  had  to  endure  many  annoyances, 
which  might  have  vexed  me  greatly,  had  I  not  possessed 
a  stock  of  philosophy  beyond  ordinary  mortals. 

M.  D ,  privileged  manager  of  the  Bab-Azoun  Thea- 
tre, had  commenced  the  season  with  an  operatic  company, 
and,  fearing  lest  the  success  of  a  stranger  on  his  stage 
might  injure  his  own  prospects,  he  complained  about  it  to 
the  authorities. 

The  mayor  could  offer  him  no  other  consolation  than 


376  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

saying  the  government  ordered  it.  M.  D protested, 

and  even  threatened  to  throw  up  the  management,  but  the 
mayor  adhered  to  his  inflexible  decision. 

The  city  of  Algiers  thus  suddenly  saw  itself  exposed  to 
a  total  managerial  eclipse,  when,  through  a  spirit  of  con- 
ciliation, I  offered  to  perform  only  twice  a  week,  and  defer 
beginning  till  the  operatic  d£but  was  over. 

This  concession  slightly  calmed  the  impresario,  though 
it  did  not  gain  me  his  good  graces.  M.  D ever  main- 
tained a  coldness  towards  me,  which  evidenced  his  dissatis- 
faction, but  I  held  an  independent  position,  and  this  cool- 
ness did  not  render  me  wretched. 

I  also  managed  to  escape  from  the  annoyances  aroused 
by  certain  subalterns  of  the  stage,  and,  being  determined 
that  my  voyage  to  Algiers  should  be  a  real  pleasure-trip, 
I  laughed  at  these  puny  attacks.  Besides,  my  attention 
was  directed  to  a  matter  far  more  interesting  to  me. 

The  journals  had  announced  my  performances,  and  this 
statement  immediately  aroused  a  paper  warfare  in  the  Al- 
gerian press,  the  strangeness  of  which  contributed  no  little 
to  give  increased  publicity  to  my  representations. 

"Robert-Houdin,"  one  paper  said,  "  cannot  be  at  Al- 
giers, for  we  see  daily  announced  in  the  Paris  papers, 
1  Robert-Houdin  every  evening  at  eight  o'clock.'  ' 

"  And  why,"  another  journal  asked,  pleasantly,  "  should 
not  Robert-Houdin  perform  in  Algiers  and  yet  remain  all 
the  while  in  Paris  ?  Do  we  not  know  that  this  sorcerer 
possesses  the  gift  of  ubiquity,  and  that  he  often  gives  per- 
formances at  Paris,  Rome,  and  Moscow  on  the  same  even- 
ing?" 

The  discussion  went  on  thus,  for  several  days,  some  de- 
nying my  presence,  others  affirming  it. 

The  public  of  Algiers  were  willing  to  accept  this  fact  aa 


CURIOUS  DISCUSSIONS.  377 

one  of  those  pleasantries  generally  denominated  canards, 
but  they  also  wished  to  be  sure  of  not  being  victims  of  a 
delusion  if  they  came  to  the  theatre. 

At  length  the  matter  was  taken  up  seriously,  and  the 
editors  explained  that  Mr.  Hamilton,  on  succeeding  his 
brother-in-law,  had  kept  up  the  old  title ;  so  that  Robert- 
Houdin  was  a  term  equally  applicable  to  the  performer 
and  to  the  style  of  performance. 

This  curious  discussion,  the  annoyances  occasioned  by 

M.  D ,  and,  as  I  hope  I  may  believe,  the  attraction  of 

my  performance,  brought  me  an  enormous  audience.  All 
the  tickets  were  bought  beforehand,  and  the  house  was 
stiflingly  hot,  for  the  centigrade  thermometer  denoted  35 
deg.,  and  we  were  in  the  middle  of  September. 

Poor  spectators,  how  I  pitied  them  !  To  judge  from  my 
own  sensations,  they  must  all  have  been  mummified  on  the 
spot.  I  feared  that  the  enthusiasm,  as  is  the  general 
rule,  would  be  in  an  inverse  ratio  to  the  temperature ;  but 
I  had  no  cause  to  complain  of  my  reception,  and  I  drew 
from  this  success  a  happy  omen  for  the  future. 

In  order  not  to  deprive  my  "official  representations," 
as  M.  de  Neveu  termed  them,  of  the  interest  the  reader 
will  expect  from  them,  I  will  give  no  details  of  those  which 
preceded  them,  and  were  so  many  trial-balloons.  I  may 
say  the  Arabs  who  came  were  very  few ;  for  these  men, 
with  their  indolent  and  sensual  temper,  consider  the  hap- 
piness of  lying  on  a  mat  and  smoking  far  above  a  spec- 
tacle. 

Hence  the  governor,  guided  by  the  profound  knowledge 
he  had  of  their  character,  never  invited  them  to  a  fete  :  he 
sent  them  a  military  summons.  This  occurred  for  my 
representations. 

As  M.  de  Neveu  had  announced  to  me,  the  expedition- 


378  MEMOIKS  OF  ROBEET-HOUDIN. 

ary  corps  returned  to  Algiers  on  the  20th  of  October,  and 
the  f6tes,  suspended  by  the  campaign,  were  fixed  for  the 
27th.  Messengers  were  sent  off  to  all  parts  of  the  colony, 
and  on  the  appointed  day  the  chiefs  of  the  tribes,  accom- 
panied by  a  numerous  suite,  found  themselves  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  marshal-governor. 

These  autumnal  fetes,  the  most  brilliant  held  in  Algeria, 
and  probably  unrivalled  in  any  country  of  the  world,  pre- 
sent a  picturesque  and  really  remarkable  scene. 

I  should  like  to  be  able  to  paint  here  the  strange  aspect 
the  capital  assumed  on  the  arrival  of  the  goums  of  the 
Tell  and  the  South.  The  native  camp,  an  inextricable 
pell-mell  of  huts  for  men  and  horses,  offering  a  thousand 
contrasts,  strange  as  they  were  fascinating ;  the  brilliant 
cortege  of  the  governor-general,  in  the  midst  of  which  the 
Arab  chiefs,  with  their  stern  faces,  attracted  the  eye  by 
the  luxury  of  their  costumes,  the  beauty  of  their  horses, 
and  the  brilliancy  of  their  gold-broidered  trappings  ;  and 
the  marvellous  hippodrome,  situated  between  the  sea,  the 
smiling  hill  of  Mustapha,  and  the  plain  of  Hussein-Dey, 
over  which  gloomy  mountains  cast  a  sombre  shade.  But 
I  will  say^  nothing  about  all  this.  Nor  will  I  describe 
those  military  exercises  called  a  Fantasia,  in  which  twelve 
hundred  Arabs,  mounted  on  splendid  steeds,  and  uttering 
wild  cries  as  if  on  the  battle-field,  displayed  the  utmost 
vigor,  skill,  and  intelligence  men  can  possess.  Nor  will  I 
speak  of  the  admirable  exhibition  of  Arab  stallions,  each 
exciting  the  most  lively  satisfaction  as  it  passed ;  for  all 
this  has  been  already  described,  and  I  am  longing  to  reach 
my  own  performances,  which,  I  may  say,  formed  not  the 
least  interesting  part  of  this  fSte.  I  will  only  allude  to 
one  circumstance,  which  struck  me  peculiarly. 

I  saw  a  horseman,  mounted  on  a  magnificent  Arab  steed, 


THE  ALGIERS  THEATRE*.  379 

beat  all  the  winners  in  a  final  heat.  This  horseman  was 
twelve  years  of  age,  and  could  pass  under  his  horse  with- 
out stooping. 

The  races  lasted  three  days,  and  I  was  to  give  my  per- 
formances at  the  end  of  the  second  and  third. 

Before  beginning,  I  will  say  a  word  about  the  Algiers 
theatre. 

It  is  a  very  neat  house,  in  the  style  of  the  Varie'te's  at 
Paris,  and  decorated  with  considerable  taste.  It  is  situ- 
ated at  the  extremity  of  the  Rue  Bab-Azoun,  on  the  place 
bearing  that  name,  and  the  facade  is  peculiarly  elegant. 

On  first  seeing  this  immense  edifice,  it  would  be  assumed 
that  the  interior  was  enormous :  but  it  is  nothing  of  the 
sort.  The  architect  has  sacrificed  everything  to  the  claims 
of  public  order  and  ventilation,  while  the  stairs,  passages, 
and  green-room  occupy  as  much  space  as  the  house  itself. 
Perhaps  the  architect  took  into  consideration  the  limited 
number  of  theatre-going  people  in  Algiers,  and  thought 
that  a  small  house  would  offer  performers  a  better  chance 
of  success. 

On  the  28th  of  October,  the  day  appointed  for  my  first 
performance  before  the  Arabs,  I  reached  my  post  at  an 
early  hour,  and  could  enjoy  the  sight  of  their  entrance 
into  the  theatre. 

Each  goum,  drawn  up  in  companies,  was  introduced 
separately,  and  led  in  perfect  order  to  the  places  chosen 
for  it  in  advance.  Then  came  the  turn  of  the  chiefs,  who 
seated  themselves  with  all  the  gravity  becoming  their  char- 
acter. 

Their  introduction  lasted  some  time,  for  these  sons  of 
nature  could  not  understand  that  they  were  boxed  up  thus, 
side  by  side,  to  enjoy  a  spectacle,  and  our  comfortable  seats, 
far  from  seeming  so  to  them,  bothered  them  strangely.  I 


380  MEImS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

saw  them  fidgeting  about  for  some  time,  and  trying  to 
tuck  their  legs  under  them,  after  the  fashion  of  European 
tailors. 

Marshal  Randon,  with  his  family  and  suite,  occupied 
the  two  stage-boxes  to  the  right  of  the  stage,  while  the 
prefect  and  other  civilian  authorities  sat  exactly  facing 
him.  As  for  Colonel  de  Neveu,  he  was  everywhere,  as 
the  arranger  of  the  festival. 

The  ca'ids,  agas,  bash-agas,  and  other  titled  Arabs,  held 
the  places  of  honor,  for  they  occupied  the  orchestra-stalls 
and  the  dress-circle. 

In  the  midst  of  them  were  several  privileged  officers, 
and,  lastly,  the  interpreters  were  mingled  among  the  spec- 
tators, to  translate  my  remarks  to  them. 

I  was  also  told  that  several  curious  people,  having  been 
unable  to  procure  tickets,  had  assumed  the  Arab  burnous, 
and,  binding  the  camel's-hair  cord  round  their  foreheads, 
had  slipped  in  among  their  new  co-religionists. 

This  strange  medley  of  spectators  was  indeed  a  most 
curious  sight.  The  dress-circle,  more  especially,  presented 
an  appearence  as  grand  as  it  was  imposing.  Some  sixty 
Arab  chiefs,  clothed  in  their  red  mantles  (the  symbol  of 
their  submission  to  France),  on  which  one  or  more  deco- 
rations glistened,  gravely  awaited  my  performance  with 
majestic  dignity. 

I  have  performed  before  many  brilliant  assemblies,  but 
never  before  one  which  struck  me  so  much  as  this.  How- 
ever, the  impression  I  felt  on  the  rise  of  the  curtain, 
far  from  paralyzing  me,  on  the  contrary  inspired  me  with 
a  lively  sympathy  for  the  spectators,  whose  faces  seemed 
so  well  prepared  to  accept  the  marvels  promised  them. 
As  soon  as  I  walked  on  the  stage,  I  felt  quite  at  my  ease, 
and  enjoyed,  in  anticipation,  the  sight  I  was  going  to 
amuse  myself  with. 


A  STRANGE  AUDIENCE.  381 

I  felt,  I  confess,  rather  inclined  to  laugh  at  myself  and 
my  audience,  for  I  stepped  forth,  wand  in  hand,  with  all 
the  gravity  of  a  real  sorcerer.  Still,  I  did  not  give  way, 
for  I  was  here  not  merely  to  amuse  a  curious  and  kind 
public,  I  must  produce  a  startling  eifect  upon  coarse  minds 
and  prejudices,  for  I  was  enacting  the  part  of  a  French 
Marabout. 

Compared  with  the  simple  tricks  of  their  pretended 
sorcerers,  my  experiments  must  appear  perfect  miracles  to 
the  Arabs. 

I  commenced  my  performance  in  the  most  profound,  I 
might  almost  say  religious,  silence,  and  the  attention  of  the 
spectators  was  so  great  that  they  seemed  petrified.  Their 
fingers  alone  moving  nervously,  played  with  the  beads  of 
their  rosaries,  while  they  were,  doubtlessly,  invoking  the 
protection  of  the  Most  High. 

This  apathetic  condition  did  not  suit  me,  for  I  had  not 
come  to  Algeria  to  visit  a  waxwork  exhibition.  I  wanted 
movement,  animation,  life  in  fact,  around  me. 

I  changed  my  batteries,  and,  instead  of  generalizing  my 
remarks,  I  addressed  them  more  especially  to  some  of  the 
Arabs,  whom  I  stimulated  by  my  words,  and  still  more  by 
my  actions.  The  astonishment  then  gave  way  to  a  more 
expressive  feeling,  which  was  soon  evinced  by  noisy  out- 
bursts. 

This  was  especially  the  case  when  I  produced  cannon- 
balls  from  a  hat,  for  my  spectators,  laying  aside  their 
gravity,  expressed  their  delighted  admiration  by  the 
strangest  and  most  energetic  gestures. 

Then  came — greeted  by  the  same  success — the  bouquet 
of  flowers,  produced  instantaneously  from  a  hat;  the 
cornucopia,  supplying  a  multitude  of  objects,  which  I  dis- 
tributed though  unable  to  satisfy  the  repeated  demands 


382  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

made  on  all  sides,  and  still  more  by  those  who  had  their 
hands  full  already ;  the  five~franc  pieces,  sent  across  the 
theatre  into  a  crystal  box  suspended  above  the  spectators. 

One  trick  I  should  much  have  liked  to  perform  was  the 
inexhaustible  bottle,  so  appreciated  by  the  Parisians  and 
the  Manchester  "hands;"  but  I  could  not  employ  it  in 
this  performance,  for  it  is  well  known  the  followers  of 
Mohammed  drink  no  fermented  liquor — at  least  not  pub- 
licly. Hence,  I  substituted  the  following  with  consider- 
able advantage. 

I  took  a  silver  cup,  like  those  called  "punch  bowls"  in 
the  Parisians  cafe's.  I  unscrewed  the  foot,  and  passing  my 
wand  through  it  showed  that  the  vessel  contained  nothing ; 
then,  having  refitted  the  two  parts,  I  went  to  the  centre  of 
the  pit,  when,  at  my  command,  the  bowl  was  magically 
filled  with  sweetmeats,  which  were  found  excellent. 

The  sweetmeats  exhausted,  I  turned  the  bowl  over, 
and  proposed  to  fill  it  with  excellent  coffee ;  so,  gravely 
passing  my  hand  thrice  over  the  bowl,  a  dense  vapor  im- 
mediately issued  from  it,  and  announced  the  presence  of 
the  precious  liquid.  The  bowl  was  full  of  boiling  coffee, 
which  I  poured  into  cups,  and  offered  to  my  astounded 
spectators. 

The  first  cups  were  only  accepted,  so  to  speak,  under 
protest ;  for  not  an  Arab  would  consent  to  moisten  his  lips 
with  a  beverage  which  he  thought  came  straight  from  Shai- 
tan's  kitchen;  but,  insensibly  seduced  by  the  perfume  of 
their  favorite  liquor,  and  urged  by  the  interpreters,  some 
of  the  boldest  decided  on  tasting  the  magic  liquor,  and 
all  soon  followed  their  example. 

The  vessel,  rapidly  emptied,  was  repeatedly  filled  again 
with  equal  rapidity ;  and  it  satisfied  all  demands,  like  my 
inexhaustible  bottle,  and  was  borne  back  to  the  stage  still 
full. 


THE  MYSTERIOUS  BOX.  383 

But  it  was  not  enough  to  amuse  my  spectators ;  I  must 
also,  in  order  to  fulfil  the  object  of  my  mission,  startle 
and  even  terrify  them  by  the  display  of  a  supernatural 
power. 

My  arrangements  had  all  been  made  for  this  purpose, 
and  I  had  reserved  for  the  end  of  my  performances  three 
tricks,  which  must  complete  my  reputation  as  a  sorcerer. 

Many  of  my  readers  will  remember  having  seen  at  my 
performances  a  small  but  solidly-built  box,  which,  being 
handed  to  the  spectators,  becomes  heavy  or  light  at  my 
order;  a  child  might  raise  it  with  ease,  and  yet  the  most 
powerful  man  could  not  move  it  from  its  place. 

I  advanced  with  my  box  in  my  hand,  to  the  centre  of 
the  "  practicable,"  communicating  from  the  stage  to  the  pit ; 
then,  addressing  the  Arabs,  I  said  to  them ; 

"From  what  you  have  witnessed,  you  will  attribute  a 
supernatural  power  to  me,  and  you  are  right.  I  will  give 
you  a  new  proof  of  my  marvellous  authority,  by  showing 
that  I  can  deprive  the  most  powerful  man  of  his  strength 
and  restore  it  at  my  will.  Any  one  who  thinks  himself 
strong  enough  to  try  the  experiment  may  draw  near  me." 
(I  spoke  slowly,  in  order  to  give  the  interpreter  time  to 
translate  my  words.") 

An  Arab  of  middle  height,  but  well  built  and  muscular, 
like  many  of  the  Arabs  are,  came  to  my  side  with  suffici- 
ent assurance. 

"Are  you  very  strong?"  I  said  to  him,  measuring  him 
from  head  to  foot." 

"  Oh  yes !"  he  replied  carelessly. 

"  Are  you  sure  you  will  always  remain  so?" 

"Quite  sure." 

"  Your  are  mistaken,  for  in  an  instant  I  will  rob  you  of 
your  strength,  and  you  shall  become  as  a  little  child." 


384  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

The  Arab  smiled  disdainfully  as  a  sign  of  his  incre- 
dulity. 

"  Stay,"  I  continued;  "lift  up  this  box." 

The  Arab  stooped,  lifted  up  the  box,  and  said  to  me, 
coldly,  "Is  that  all?" 

"Wait !"  I  replied. 

Then,  with  all  possible  gravity,  I  made  an  imposing 
gesture,  and  solemnly  pronounced  the  words : 

"  Behold !  you  are  weaker  than  a  women ;  now,  try  to 
lift  the  box." 

The  Hercules,  quite  cool  as  to  my  conjuration,  seized 
the  box  once  again  by  the  handle,  and  gave  it  a  violent 
tug,  but  this  time  the  box  resisted,  and,  spite  of  his  most 
vigorous  attacks,  would  not  budge  an  inch. 

The  Arab  vainly  expended  on  this  unlucky  box  a 
strength  which  would  have  raised  an  enormous  weight, 
until,  at  length,  exhausted,  panting,  and  red  with  anger, 
he  stopped,  became  thoughtful,  and  began  to  comprehend 
the  influences  of  magic. 

He  was  on  the  point  of  withdrawing;  but  that  would 
be  allowing  his  weakness,  and  that  he,  hitherto  respected 
for  his  vigor,  had  become  as  a  little  child.  This  thought 
rendered  him  almost  mad. 

Deriving  fresh  strength  from  the  encouragements  his 
friends  offered  him  by  word  and  deed,  he  turned  a  glance" 
round  them,  which  seemed  to  say :  "  You  will  see  what  a 
son  of  the  desert  can  do." 

He  bent  once  again  over  the  box  :  his  nervous  hands 
twined  round  the  handle,  and  his  legs,  placed  on  either 
side  like  two  bronze  columns,  served  as  a  support  for  the 
final  effort. 

But,  wonder  of  wonders  !  this  Hercules,  a  moment  since 
so  strong  and  proud,  now  bows  his  head ;  his  arms,  riveted 


AN  ELECTRIC  SHOCK.  385 

to  the  box,  undergo  a  violent  muscular  contraction ;  his 
legs  give  way,  and  he  falls  on  his  knees  with  a  yell  of 
agony ! 

An  electric  shock,  produced  by  an  inductive  apparatus, 
had  been  passed,  on  a  signal  from  me,  from  the  further 
end  of  the  stage  into  the  handle  of  the  box.  Hence  the 
contortions  of  the  poor  Arab  ! 

It  would  have  been  cruelty  to  prolong  this  scene. 

I  gave  a  second  signal,  and  the  electric  current  was 
immediately  intercepted.  My  athlete,  disengaged  from 
his  terrible  bondage,  raised  his  hands  over  his  head. 

"Allah!  Allah!"  he  exclaimed,  full  of  terror;  then 
wrapping  himself  up  quickly  in  the  folds  of  his  burnous, 
as  if  to  hide  his  disgrace,  he  rushed  through  the  ranks  of 
the  spectators  and  gained  the  front  entrance. 

With  the  exception  of  my  stage  boxes  and  the  privileged 
spectators  who  appeared  to  take  great  pleasure  in  this  ex- 
periment, my  audience  had  become  grave  and  silent,  and 
I  heard  the  words  "  Shaitan !"  "  Djenoum !"  passing  in 
a  murmur  round  the  circle  of  credulous  men,  who,  while 
gazing  on  me,  seemed  astonished  that  I  possessed  none  of 
the  physical  qualities  attributed  to  the  angel  of  darkness. 

I  allowed  my  public  a  few  moments  to  recover  from  tho 
emotion  produced  by  my  experiment  and  the  flight  of  the 
herculean  Arab. 

One  of  the  means  employed  by  the  Marabouts  to  gain 
influence  in  the  eyes  of  the  Arabs  is  by  causing  a  belief 
in  their  invulnerability. 

One  of  them,  for  instance,  ordered  a  gun  to  be  loaded 
and  fired  at  him  from  a  short  distance,  but  in  vain  did  the 
flint  produce  a  shower  of  sparks;  the  Marabout  pro- 
nounced some  cabalistic  words,  and  the  gun  did  not  ex- 
plode. 

z 


386  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

The  mystery  was  simple  enough ;  the  gun  did  not  go 
off  because  the  Marabout  had  skillfully  stopped  up  the 
vent. 

Colonel  de  Neveu  explained  to  me  the  importance  of 
discrediting  such  a  miracle  by  opposing  to  it  a  sleight-of- 
hand  trick  far  superior  to  it,  and  I  had  the  very  article. 

I  informed  the  Arabs  that  I  possessed  a  talisman  ren- 
dering me  invulnerable,  and  I  defied  the  best  marksman 
in  Algeria  to  hit  me. 

I  had  hardly  uttered  the  words,  when  an  Arab,  who  had 
attracted  my  notice  by  the  attention  he  had  paid  to  my 
tricks,  jumped  over  four  rows  of  seats,  and  disdaining  the 
use  of  the  "practicable,"  crossed  the  orchestra,  upsetting 
flutes,  clarionets,  and  violins,  escaladed  the  stage,  while 
burning  himself  at  the  foot-lights,  and  then  said,  in  excel- 
lent French, 

"  I  will  kill  you  !" 

An  immense  burst  of  laughter  greeted  both  the  Arab's 
picturesque  ascent  and  his  murderous  intentions,  while  an 
interpreter  who  stood  near  me  told  me  I  had  to  deal  with 
a  Marabout. 

"You  wish  to  kill  me  !"  I  replied,  imitating  his  accent 
and  the  inflection  of  his  voice.  "Well,  I  reply,  that 
though  you  are  a  sorcerer,  I  am  still  a  greater  one,  and 
you  will  not  kill  me." 

I  held  a  cavalry  pistol  in  my  hand,  which  I  presented 
to  him. 

"  Here,  take  this  weapon,  and  assure  yourself  it  has 
undergone  no  preparation." 

The  Arab  breathed  several  times  down  the  barrel,  then 
through  the  nipple,  to  assure  himself  there  was  a  commu- 
nication between  them,  and  after  carefully  examining  the 
pistol,  said: 


A  TALISMAN.  387 

"  The  weapon  is  good,  and  I  will  kill  you." 

"  As  you  are  determined,  and  for  more  certainty,  put 
in  a  double  charge  of  powder,  and  a  wad  on  the  top." 

"  It  is  done." 

"  Now,  here  is  a  leaden  ball ;  mark  it  with  your  knife, 
so  as  to  be  able  to  recognize  it,  and  put  it  in  the  pistol, 
with  a  second  wad." 

"  It  is  done." 

"Now  that  you  are  quite  sure  your  pistol  is  loaded, 
and  that  it  will  explode,  tell  me,  do  you  feel  no  remorse, 
no  scruple  about  killing  me  thus,  although  I  authorize  you 
to  do  so  ?" 

"  No,  for  I  wish  to  kill  you,"  the  Arab  repeated,  coldly. 

Without  replying,  I  put  an  apple  on  the  point  of  a 
knife,  and,  standing  a  few  yards  from  the  Marabout, 
ordered  him  to  fire. 

"  Aim  straight  at  the  heart,"  I  said  to  him. 

My  opponent  aimed  immediately,  without  the  slightest 
hesitation. 

The  pistol  exploded,  and  the  bullet  lodged  in  the  centre 
of  the  apple. 

I  carried  the  talisman  to  the  Marabout,  who  recognized 
the  ball  he  had  marked. 

I  could  not  say  that  this  trick  produced  greater  stupe- 
faction than  the  once  preceding  it :  at  any  rate,  my  spec- 
tators, palsied  by  surprise  and  terror,  looked  round  in 
silence,  seeming  to  think,  "  Where  the  deuce  have  we  got 
to  here !" 

A  pleasant  scene,  however,  soon  unwrinkled  many  of 
their  faces.  The  Marabout,  though  stupefied  by  his 
defeat,  had  not  lost  his  wits ;  so,  profiting  by  the  moment 
when  he  returned  me  the  pistol,  he  seized  the  apple,  thrust 
it  into  his  waist-belt,  and  could  not  be  induced  to  return  it, 


388  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

persuaded  as  he  was  that  he  possessed  in  it  an  incompara- 
ble talisman. 

For  the  last  trick  in  my  performance  I  required  the  as- 
sistance of  an  Arab. 

At  the  request  of  several  interpreters,  a  young  Moor, 
about  twenty  years  of  age,  tall,  well  built,  and  richly 
dressed,  consented  to  come  on  the  stage.  Bolder  and 
more  civilized,  doubtlessly,  than  his  comrades  of  the 
plains,  he  walked  firmly  up  to  me. 

I  drew  him  towards  the  table  that  was  in  the  centre  of 
the  stage,  and  pointed  out  to  him  and  to  the  other  specta- 
tors that  it  was  slightly  built  and  perfectly  isolated. 
After  which,  without  further  preface,  I  told  him  to  mount 
upon  it,  and  covered  him  with  an  enormous  cloth  cone, 
open  at  the  top. 

Then,  drawing  the  cone  and  its  contents  on  to  a  plank, 
the  ends  of  which  were  held  by  my  servant  and  myself,  we 
walked  to  the  foot-lights  with  our  heavy  burden,  and  up- 
set it.  The  Moor  had  disappeared  —  the  cone  was  per- 
fectly empty ! 

Immediately  there  began  a  spectacle  which  I  shall  never 
forget. 

The  Arabs  were  so  affected  by  this  last  trick,  that,  im- 
pelled by  an  irresistible  feeling  of  terror,  they  rose  in  all 
parts  of  the  house,  and  yielded  to  the  influence  of  a  gene- 
ral panic.  To  tell  the  truth,  the  crowd  of  fugitives  was 
densest  at  the  door  of  the  dress  circle,  and  it  could  be  seen, 
from  the  agility  and  confusion  of  these  high  dignitaries, 
that  they  were  the  first  to  wish  to  leave  the  house. 

Vainly  did  one  of  them,  the  Ca'id  of  the  Beni-Salah, 
more  courageous  than  his  colleagues,  try  to  restrain  them 
by  his  words  : 

"  Stay !  stay  !  we  cannot  thus  lose  one  of  our  co-reli- 


SAUVE  QUI  PEUT!  889 

gionists.  Surely  we  must  know  what  has  become  of  him, 
or  what  has  been  done  to  him.  Stay  !  stay !" 

But  the  co-religionists  only  ran  away  the  faster,  and 
soon  the  courageous  caid,  led  away  by  their  example,  fol- 
lowed them. 

They  little  knew  what  awaited  them  at  the  door  of  the 
theatre ;  but  they  had  scarce  gone  down  the  steps  when 
they  found  themselves  face  to  face  with  the  "  resuscitated 
Moor." 

The  first  movement  of  terror  overcome,  they  surrouuded 
the  man,  felt  and  cross-questioned  him ;  but,  annoyed  by 
these  repeated  questions,  he  had  no  better  resource  than 
to  escape  at  full  speed. 

The  next  evening  the  second  performance  took  place, 
and  produced  nearly  the  same  effect  as  the  previous  one. 

The  blow  was  struck  :  henceforth  the  interpreters  and 
all  those  who  had  dealings  with  the  Arabs  received  orders 
to  make  them  understand  that  my  pretended  miracles  were 
only  the  result  of  skill,  inspired  and  guided  by  an  art 
calle.d  prestidigitation,  in  no  way  connected  with  sorcery. 

The  Arabs  doubtlessly  yielded  to  these  arguments,  for 
henceforth  I  was  on  the  most  friendly  terms  with  them. 
Each  time  a  chief  saw  me,  he  never  failed  to  come  up  and 
press  my  hand.  And,  even  more,  these  men  whom  I  had 
so  terrified,  when  they  became  my  friends,  gave  me  a  pre- 
cious testimony  of  their  esteem  —  I  may  say,  too,  of  their 
admiration,  for  that  is  their  own  expression. 

Three  days  had  elapsed  since  my  last  performance,  when 
I  received  a  despatch  from  the  governor,  ordering  me  to 
be  at  the  palace  by  twelve  o'clock,  military  time. 

Of  course  I  kept  the  appointment,  and  the  last  stroke 
of  twelve  was  still  striking  by  the  clock  of  the  neighboring 


390  MEMOIRS  OF  EOBERT-HOUDIN. 

mosque  when  I  sent  in  my  name  at  the  palace.  A  staff 
officer  immediately  came  to  me. 

"  Come  with  me,  M.  Robert-Houdin,"  he  said,  with  a 
half  mysterious  air.  "I  am  ordered  to  conduct  you." 

I  followed  my  conductor,  and,  as  the  door  of  a  magnifi- 
cent room  was  open  at  the  end  of  a  gallery  we  Crossed,  I 
saw  a  strange  sight.  Some  thirty  of  the  most  important 
Arab  chiefs  were  arranged  in  a  circle,  of  which  I  natu- 
rally formed  the  centre  when  I  entered  the  room. 

"  Salam  aleikoum !"  they  said,  in  a  grave  and  almost 
solemn  voice,  as  they  laid  their  hands  on  their  hearts. 

I  first  returned  this  salutation  by  bowing  in  the  French 
fashion,  and  then  by  several  hand-shakings,  beginning 
with  those  chiefs  whose  acquaintance  I  had  already 
formed. 

At  the  head  was  the  Bash-Aga  Bou-Allem,  the  African 
Rothschild,  in  whose  tent  I  had  drunk  my  coffee  at  the 
Arab  camp  during  the  races. 

Next  came  the  Ca'id  Assa,  with  a  wooden  leg,  who  had 
also  offered  me  pipes  and  coffee  in  the  same  encampment. 
As  this  chief  did  not  understand  a  word  of  French,,  my 
friend  Boukandoura  was  enabled,  during  a  visit  we  paid 
him,  to  tell  me  the  history  of  the  wooden  leg  in  his 
presence. 

"  Assa,"  my  friend  said,  "having  had  his  leg  shattered 
in  an  affair  against  the  French,  owed  his  escape  to  the 
speed  of  his  horse.  Once  in  a  place  of  safety,  he  himself 
cut  off  his  leg  above  the  knee,  and  then,  in  his  wild  energy, 
thrust  the  mutilated  stump  into  a  vessel  full  of  boiling 
pitch,  in  order  to  stop  the  hemorrhage." 

Wishing  to  return  the  salutations  I  had  received,  I  went 
round  the  group,  offering  my  hand  to  each  in  turn.  But 
my  task  was  remarkably  abridged,  for  the  ranks  thinned 


AN  ADDRESS.  391 

at  my  approach,  as  many  of  the  company  had  not  the  cour- 
age to  take  the  hand  of  a  man  they  had  seriously  regarded 
as  a  sorcerer  or  the  demon  in  person. 

This  incident,  however,  did  not  disturb  the  ceremony  in 
any  way.  After  a  laugh  at  the  pusillanimity  of  the  fugi- 
tives, each  re-assumed  that  gravity  which  is  the  normal 
condition  of  the  Arab  countenance. 

Then  the  most  aged  chief  in  the  assembly  advanced 
towards  me,  and  unrolled  an  enormous  MS.  It  was  an 
address,  written  in  verse,  a  perfect  masterpiece  of  native 
caligraphy,  and  adorned  with  graceful  arabesques  drawn 
by  hand. 

The  worthy  Arab,  who  was  at  least  seventy  years  of  age, 
then  read,  in  a  loud  voice,  the  piece  of  Mussulman  poetry, 
which  was  perfectly  unintelligible  to  me,  as  I  knew  only 
three  words  of  Arabic. 

When  the  reading  was  ended,  the  orator  drew  from  his 
belt  the  signet  of  his  tribe,  and  solemnly  placed  it  at  the 
bottom  of  the  page.  The  principal  Arab  chiefs  and  dig- 
nitaries followed  his  example,  and  when  all  the  seals  had 
been  affixed,  my  old  friend  took  the  paper,  and  after  as- 
suring himself  the  imprints  were  quite  dry,  he  rolled  it  up 
and  presented  it  to  me,  saying,  in  excellent  French,  and 
in  a  tone  that  revealed  his  sincerity  : 

"  To  a  merchant,  gold  is  given ;  to  a  warrior,  arms  are 
offered ;  to  thee,  Robert-Houdin,  we  present  a  testimony 
of  our  admiration,  which  thou  canst  hand  down  to  thy 
children."  And,  translating  a  verse  he  had  just  read  in 
Arabic,  he  added,  "  Pardon  us  for  presenting  thee  with 
such  a  trifle,  but  is  it  fitting  to  offer  mother-o'-pearl  to  the 
man  who  possesses  the  real  jewel  ?" 

I  avow  very  frankly  that  never  in  my  life  did  I  experi- 
ence such  sweet  emotion — never  had  my  success  pene- 


392  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUPIN. 

trated  so  fully  to  my  heart ;  and,  moved  more  than  I  can 
express,  I  turned  to  wipe  away  a  tear  of  sympathy. 

These  details,  as  well  as  the  following,  certainly  wound 
my  modesty  a  little,  but  I  cannot  make  up  my  mind  to 
pass  them  over  in  silence ;  hence,  I  must  beg  the  reader 
to  accept  them  as  a  mere  picture  of  manners. 

I  declare,  too,  that  the  thought  never  entered  my  mind 
of  having  deserved  such  praise,  and  yet  I  cannot  refrain 
from  feeling  as  much  flattered  as  grateful  for  this  homage, 
and  regarding  it  as  the  most  precious  souvenir  of  my  pro- 
fessional career. 

This  declaration  made,  I  will  furnish  a  translation  of 
the  address,  in  the  words  used  by  the  caligrapher  him- 
self: 

"  Homage  offered  to  Robert-Houdin,  by  the  chiefs  of  the 
Arab  tribes,  after  his  performances  given  at  Algiers  on  tho 
28th  and  29th  of  October,  1856. 

"GLORY  TO   GOD, 

who  teaches  us  what  we  know  not,  and  enables  us  to  ex- 
press the  treasures  of  the  mind  by  the  flowers  of  eloquence 
and  the  signs  of  writing. 

"  Generous-handed  destiny  has  sent  down  from  above, 
in  the  midst  of  lightning  and  thunder,  like  a  powerful  and 
fertilizing  rain,  the  marvel  of  the  moment  and  the  age, 
him  who  cultivates  the  surprising  arts  and  marvellous  sci- 
ences— the  iSM-Robert-Houdin. 

"  Our  century  has  seen  no  one  comparable  with  him. 
The  splendor  of  his  talent  surpasses  the  most  brilliant 
productions  of  past  ages.  Our  age  is  the  more  illustrious 
because  it  has  possessed  him. 


FLOWERY  COMPLIMENTS.  •    393 

"  He  has  known  how  to  stir  our  hearts  and  astonish  our 
minds,  by  displaying  to  us  the  surprising  facts  of  his 
marvellous  science.  Our  eyes  were  never  before  fascinated 
by  such  prodigies.  What  he  accomplishes  cannot  be  de- 
scribed. We  owe  him  our  gratitude  for  all  the  things  by 
which  he  has  delighted  our  eyes  and  our  minds ;  hence, 
our  friendship  for  him  has  sunk  into  our  hearts  like  a  per- 
fumed shower,  and  our  bosoms  preciously  conceal  it. 

"We  shall  in  vain  attempt  to  raise  our  praises  to  the 
height  of  his  merit;  we  must  lower  our  brows  before  him 
and  pay  him  homage,  so  long  as  the  benevolent  shower 
fertilizes  the  soil,  so  long  as  the  moon  illuminates  the 
night,  so  long  as  the  clouds  come  to  temper  the  heat  of 
the  sun. 

"  Written  by  the  slave  of  God, 

"ALI-BEN-EL-HADJI  MOUSSA. 

"Pardon  us  for  presenting  thee  with,"  &c.  &c. 

Then  follow  the  seals  and  signatures  of  the  chiefs  of  the 
tribes. 

After  the  ceremony  was  over,  and  the  Arabs  had  left 
us,  the  marshal-governor,  whom  I  had  not  seen  since  my 
performances,  being  desirous  to  give  me  an  idea  of  the  ef- 
fect they  had  produced  on  the  minds  of  the  natives,  quoted 
the  following  incident: 

A  Kabyle  chief,  who  had  come  to  Algiers  to  make  his 
submission,  was  taken  to  my  first  performance. 

The  next  day,  at  an  early  hour,  he  went  to  the  palace, 
and  asked  to  speak  with  the  governor. 

"I  have,"  he  said  to  the  marshal,  "to  ask  your  permis- 
sion to  return  immediately  to  my  tribe." 

"You  must  be  aware,"  the  marshal  replied,  "that  the 


394  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

forms  are  not  yet  filled  up,  and  the  papers  will  not  be  in 
order  for  three  days ;  you  will,  therefore,  remain  for  that 
period." 

"Allah  is  great,"  the  Arab  said,  "  and  if  it  pleaseth 
Him  I  shall  go  away  before,  you  will  not  be  able  to  stop 
me." 

"  You  will  not  go,  I  feel  certain,  if  I  forbid  it.  But 
tell  me,  why  are  you  in  such  a  hurry  to  leave?" 

"After  what  I  saw  yesterday  I  don't  wish  to  stay  in 
Algiers;  a  misfortune  would  happen  to  me." 

" Did  you  regard  the  miracles  as  real?" 

The  Kabyle  surveyed  the  marshal  with  an  air  of  aston- 
ishment, and,  without  replying  directly  to  the  question 
addressed  him,  said : 

"Instead  of  killing  your  soldiers  in  conquering  the 
Kabyles,  send  your  French  Marabout  to  the  most  rebel 
tribes,  and  before  a  fortnight  he  will  bring  them  all  to 
you." 

The  Kabyle  did  not  leave,  for  the  interpreters  managed 
to  remove  his  fears ;  still  he  was  one  of  those  who  kept 
furthest  aloof  from  me  during  the  ceremony  I  have  de- 
scribed. 

Another  Arab  also  said,  on  leaving  one  of  my  perform- 
ances : 

"  Our  Marabouts  must  now  do  very  great  miracles  to 
astonish  us." 

These  statements  from  the  governor's  own  lips  were 
very  agreeable  to  me,  for  up  to  that  moment  I  had  felt 
rather  uneasy ;  and  although  I  was  certain  I  had  produced 
a  startling  impression  by  my  performances,  I  was  en- 
chanted at  learning  that  the  object  of  my  mission  had 
been  carried  out  according  to  the  wishes  of  government. 
In  addition,  before  I  started  for  France,  the  marshal  was 


THE  AISSAOUA.  395 

kind  enough  to  assure  me  once  again  that  my  performances 
in  Algeria  had  produced  the  happiest  effect  in  the  minds 
of  the  natives. 

Although  my  performances  were  ended,  I  was  in  no 
hurry  to  return  to  France.  I  was  curious,  in  my  turn,  to 
witness  a  conjuring  performance  of  the  Marabouts,  or 
other  native  jugglers.  I  had  also  promised  several  Arab 
chiefs  to  visit  them  in  their  douars,  and  I  wished  to  enjoy 
this  double  pleasure. 

There  are  few  Frenchmen  who,  after  a  short  stay  in 
Algeria,  have  not  heard  of  the  Aissaoua  and  their  mar- 
vels. The  stories  I  had  been  told  of  the  experiments  per- 
formed by  the  followers  of  Sid-Aissa  had  inspired  me  with 
the  liveliest  desire  to  see  them,  and  I  was  persuaded  that 
all  their  miracles  were  only  more  or  less  ingenious  tricks, 
jrhich  I  should  be  able  to  detect. 

As  M.  le  Colonel  Neveu  had  promised  me  the  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  them,  he  kept  his  word. 

On  a  day  chosen  by  the  Mokaddem,  the  usual  president 
of  this  sort  of  meeting,  we  went,  accompanied  by  several 
staff  officers  and  their  wives,  to  an  Arab  house,  and  pro- 
ceeded through  a  low  archway  into  the  inner  court,  where 
the  ceremony  was  to  take  place.  Lights  artistically  fixed 
on  the  walls,  and  carpets  spread  on  the  pavement,  awaited 
the  arrival  of  the  brothers,  while  a  cushion  was  reserved 
for  the  Mokaddem. 

We  all  took  our  seats  where  we  should  not  disturb  the 
performance,  and  our  ladies  went  up  to  a  gallery  on  the 
first  floor,  and  thus  represented  our  dress-boxes. 

But  I  will  let  Colonel  Neveu  himself  describe  this  scene, 
by  copying  verbatim  from  his  interesting  work  "  The  Re- 
ligious Orders  among  the  Mussulmans  of  Algeria:" 

"The  Aissaoua  entered,  formed  a  circle  in  the  court- 


396  MEMOIRS  OF  EOBERT-HOUDIN. 

yard,  and  soon  began  their  chants.  These  were  at  first 
slow  and  solemn  chants,  and  lasted  a  long  time ;  then  came 
the  praises  of  Sidi-Muhammad-Ben-Aissa,  founder  of  the 
order ;  after  which  the  Brethren  and  the  Mokaddem,  tak- 
ing up  cymbals  and  tambourines,  gradually  increased  the 
speed  of  the  chanting. 

"  After  about  two  hours  the  songs  had  become  wild 
cries,  and  the  gestures  of  the  Brethren  had  followed  the 
same  impulse.  Suddenly  some  of  them  rose  and  formed  a 
line,  dancing,  and  pronouncing  as  gutturally  as  they  could, 
and  with  all  the  vigor  of  their  energetic  lungs,  the  sacred 
name  of  Allah.  This  word,  issuing  from  the  mouths  of 
the  A'issaoua,  seemed  rather  a  savage  growl  than  an  invo- 
cation addressed  to  the  Supreme  Being.  Soon  the  noise 
increased,  the  most  extravagant  gestures  began,  while  tur- 
bans fell  off  and  exposed  their  shorn  heads,  which  look 
like  those  of  vultures ;  the  long  folds  of  their  red  sashes 
became  unfastened,  embarrassing  their  movements  and  in- 
creasing their  disorder. 

"  Then  the  A'issaoua  moved  about  on  their  hands  and 
knees,  imitating  the  movements  of  wild  animals.  They 
seemed  to  be  acting  under  the  influence  of  some  muscular 
force,  and  they  forgot  they  were  men. 

"  When  the  excitement  had  reached  its  height,  and  the 
perspiration  was  running  down  their  bodies,  the  A'issaoua 
began  their  juggling.  They  called  the  Mokaddem  their 
father,  and  asked  him  for  food;  he  gave  to  some  pieces 
of  glass,  which  they  champed  between  their  teeth;  he 
placed  nails  in  the  mouths  of  others,  but,  instead  of  swal- 
lowing them,  they  carefully  hid  their  heads  in  the  folds 
of  the  Mokaddem's  burnous,  in  order  not  to  let  the  audi- 
ence see  them  remove  them.  Some  devoured  thorns  and 
thistles ;  others  passed  their  tongues  over  a  red-hot  iron 


PRETENDED  MIRACLES.  397 

and  took  them  in  their  hands  without  burning  themselves. 
One  man  struck  his  left  arm  with  his  right  hand :  the  flesh 
appeared  to  open,  and  the  blood  poured  forth  abundantly ; 
then  he  passed  his  hand  over  his  arm,  the  wound  closed, 
and  the  blood  disappeared.  Another  leaped  on  to  the 
edge  of  a  sabre  held  by  two  men,  and  did  not  cut  his  feet , 
while  others  produced  from  small  leathern  sacks  scorpions 
and  serpents,  which  they  boldly  placed  in  their  mouths." 

I  had  concealed  myself  behind  a  pillar,  whence  I  could 
survey  everything  without  being  noticed.  I  insisted  on 
not  being  the  dupe  of  these  mysterious  tricks :  hence  I 
paid  the  closest  attention. 

Both  through  the  remarks  I  made  on  the  scene  of  ac- 
tion, and  the  ulterior  researches  I  undertook,  I  am  now  in 
a  position  to  give  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  miracles 
of  the  A'issaoua.  But,  not  to  interrupt  my  narrative,  I 
will  refer  the  reader  who  is  anxious  for  these  details  to  the 
end  of  this  volume,  and  the  special  chapter  I  have  chris- 
tened A  CHAPTER  OF  MIRACLES. 

I  believe  myself  the  more  competent  to  supply  these 
explanations,  as  some  of  the  tricks  belong  to  conjuring 
proper,  and  others  are  based  on  phenomena  drawn  from 
the  physical  sciences. 


398  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

Excursion  in  the  Interior  of  Africa — The  Abode  of  a  Bash-Aga — A 
comical  Kepast — A  Soire"e  of  Arab  Dignitaries — A  Marabout  mys- 
tified—  Tent-life  in  Algeria — I  return  to  France — A  terrible  Storm — 
Conclusion. 

ONCE  possessed  of  the  secret  of  the  juggling  performed 
by  the  A'issaoua,  I  was  able  to  start  for  the  interior  of  Af- 
rica. I  therefore  set  out,  provided  with  letters  from 
Colonel  de  Neveu,  to  several  heads  of  the  Arab  depart- 
ment, his  subordinates,  and  I  took  with  me  Mme.  Robert- 
Houdin,  who  was  quite  delighted  at  the  thought  of  making 
this  excursion. 

We  were  going  to  visit  the  Arab  beneath  his  tent  or  in 
his  house;  eat  his  "couscoussou,"  which  we  only  knew  by 
name ;  study  for  ourselves  the  domestic  manners  and  cus- 
toms of  Africa :  this  was  certainly  enough  to  inflame  our 
imagination.  So  much  was  this  the  case,  that  I  hardly 
ever  thought  that  the  month  in  which  we  should  re-embark 
for  France  would  be  the  one  in  which  the  Mediterranean 
is  so  stormy. 

Among  the  Arabs  who  had  invited  me  to  visit  them,  Bou- 
Allem-Ben-Sherifa,  Bash-Aga  of  the  D 'jendel,  had  pressed 
me  so  strongly  that  I  determined  on  commencing  my 
round  of  visits  with  him. 

Our  journey  from  Algiers  to  Me'de'ah  was  most  prosaic, 
for  a  diligence  conveyed  us  there  in  two  days. 

Apart  from  the  interest  inspired  in  us  by  the  peculiar 


CAPTAIN  RITTER.  399 

vegetation  of  Algeria,  as  well  as  the  famous  peak  of  the 
Mouza'ia,  which  we  passed  at  a  gallop,  the  incidents  of  the 
journey  were  the  same  as  on  any  French  high  road.  The 
hotels  were  kept  by  Frenchmen,  and  you  dined  at  the 
table  d'hote  on  the  same  fare,  at  the  same  price,  and  with 
the  same  attendance.  This  bagman's  existence  was  not 
what  we  had  anticipated  on  leaving  Algiers.  Hence,  we 
were  delighted  to  get  out  at  Me'de'ah,  as  the  diligence  did 
not  follow  the  same  road  as  ourselves  beyond  this  point. 

Captain  Ritter,  head  of  the  Arab  office  at  Me'de'ah,  to 
whom  I  went,  had  seen  my  performances  at  Algiers :  hence, 
I  had  no  occasion  to  hand  him  the  letter  of  recommenda- 
tion addressed  to  him  by  M.  de  Neveu.  He  received  me 
with  great  affiability,  and  Mme.  Ritter  joined  her  entrea- 
ties to  her  husband's  that  we  should  visit  the  town.  I 
indeed  regretted  being  obliged  to  leave  such  agreeable 
persons  the  next  morning ;  but  I  was  obliged  to  hurry  my 
tour  over  before  the  autumnal  rains  set  in,  which  render 
the  roads  impracticable,  and  often,  indeed,  very  dangerous. 

The  captain  acceded  to  my  wishes ;  he  lent  us  two 
horses  from  his  stable,  and  gave  us  as  a  guide  to  Bou-Al- 
lem's  a  ca'id  who  spoke  French  excellently. 

This  Arab  had  been  caught  when  quite  a  youth  in  a  hut 
which  Abd-ul-Khadr  had  been  forced  to  abandon  after  one 
of  his  numerous  defeats.  The  government  sent  the  lad  to 
the  Louis-le  Grand  College,  where  he  got  on  excellently 
in  his  studies.  But,  constantly  pursued  by  the  remem- 
brance of  his  African  sky,  and  the  national  "  couscoussou" 
our  bachelor  of  arts  asked  the  favor  of  being  sent  back  to 
Algeria.  Owing  to  his  education  he  was  made  cai'd  of  a 
small  tribe,  whose  name  I  have  forgotten,  but  which  lay 
on  the  route  we  were  going  to  take. 

My  guide — whom  I  will  call  Muhammad,  because  I 


400  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

have  forgotten  his  name  also  (for  Arab  names  are  difficult 
to  remember  by  those  who  have  not  lived  some  time  in  Al- 
geria)— Muhammad,  then,  was  accompanied  by  four  Arabs 
of  his  tribe  :  two  of  them  were  to  carry  our  baggage,  and 
the  other  two  wait  upon  us.  All  were  mounted,  and  pro- 
ceeded before  us. 

We  started  at  eight  in  the  morning,  as  our  first  stage 
was  not  to  be  long,  for  Muhammad  assured  me  that,  if  it 
pleased  God  (a  formula  a  true  believer  never  omits  in 
speaking  of  the  future),  we  should  arrive  at  his  house  in 
time  for  breakfast.  In  fact,  about  three  hours  after  we 
had  set  out,  our  little  caravan  reached  Muhammad's 
modest  douar,  and  we  dismounted  in  front  of  a  villa,  en- 
tirely composed  of  branches,  of  which  the  roof  was  hardly 
of  man's  height.  This  was  the  caid's  reception-room. 

The  door  was  opened,  and  our  guide  showed  us  the  way 
by  walking  in  first.  Only  one  piece  of  furniture  orna- 
mented the  interior ;  it  was  a  small  wooden  stool,  which 
my  wife  converted  into  a  seat.  Muhammad  and  I  seated 
ourselves  on  a  carpet,  which  an  Arab  had  spread  at  our 
feet,  and  breakfast  was  soon  served  up.  Muhammad,  who, 
I  fancy,  wished  to  gain  our  pardon  for  a  grave  crime  he 
was  about  to  commit,  treated  us  sumptuously,  and  almost 
in  the  French  style.  A  rich  soup,  roast  fowls,  various 
ragofits,  which  I  cannot  describe,  as  my  culinary  studies 
have  been  very  limited,  and  pastry,  which  Felix  himself 
would  not  have  disowned,  were  placed  before  us  in  turn. 
More  than  that,  my  wife  and  I  had  been  handed  an  iron 
knife,  fork  and  spoon  —  an  unheard  of  thing  at  an  Arab's. 

The  meal  had  been  brought  from  an  adjacent  gourbi, 
where  the  caid's  mother  resided.  This  lady  had  lived  in 
Algiers  for  a  long  time,  where  she  had  acquired  the  skill 
of  which  she  had  just  oifered  us  a  specimen. 


A  DESERTER.  401 

As  for  Muhammad,  he  had  resumed  the  fashions  of  his 
ancestors,  with  the  Mussulman  costume,  and  lived  on  dates 
and  "couscoussou,"  save  when  he  had  any  guests,  which 
was  extremely  rare. 

Our  breakfast  over,  the  host  advised  to  set  out  again, 
if  we  wished  to  reach  Bou-Allem's  before  nightfall ;  and 
we  followed  his  advice. 

From  Mdde'ah  to  Muhammad's  douar  we  had  followed  a 
tolerable  road,  but  on  leaving  his  house  we  entered  on  a 
barren  and  desert  country,  where  we  saw  no  other  signs 
of  a  road  than  those  left  by  ourselves.  The  sun  poured 
its  most  torrid  beams  upon  our  heads,  and  we  found  no 
shade  along  our  route  to  protect  us  from  it.  Frequently, 
too,  our  progress  became  very  laborious,  for  we  came  to 
ravines,  into  which  we  had  to  descend  at  the  risk  of  our 
horses'  knees  and  our  own  necks.  To  restore  our  patience, 
our  guide  told  us  we  should  soon  reach  more  even  ground, 
and  we  continued  our  journey. 

About  two  hours  after  leaving  our  first  halt,  Muhammad 
quitted  us  at  full  gallop,  saying  he  would  soon  return,  and 
disappeared  behind  a  mound. 

We  never  saw  our  caid  again. 

I  learned,  afterwards,  that  in  his  jealousy  of  Bou-Al- 
lem's wealth,  he  preferred  incurring  a  punishment  sooner 
than  pay  a  visit  to  his  rival. 

This  flight  rendered  my  wife  and  myself  very  uncom- 
fortable,  and  we  exchanged  our  ideas  on  the  subject,  with 
no  fear  of  being  understood  by  our  guides.  We  were 
alarmed  by  the  bad  example  given  by  Muhammad.  Sup- 
pose the  four  Arabs  were  to  imitate  their  chief,  and  also 
abandon  us !  What  would  become  of  us  in  a  country 
where,  even  if  we  were  to  meet  anybody,  we  could  not 
make  him  understand  our  wishes  ? 

2A 


402  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

But  we  escaped  with  the  fear.  Our  worthy  guides  re- 
mained faithful  to  us,  and  were  even  very  polite  and  atten- 
tive during  the  journey.  Besides,  as  Muhammad  had  told 
us,  we  soon  reached  a  road  leading  us  straight  to  the 
abode  of  Bou-Allem. 

Compared  with  the  caid's  house,  the  bash-aga's  might 
be  considered  a  princely  residence,  less,  however,  through 
the  architectural  beauty  of  the  buildings  than  through 
their  extent.  As  in  all  Arab  houses,  only  walls  could  be 
seen  from  without ;  all  the  windows  looked  on  court-yards 
or  gardens. 

Bou-Allem  and  his  son,  warned  of  our  arrival,  came  to 
meet  us,  and  paid  us  in  Arabic  compliments  I  did  not  un- 
derstand, but  which  I  supposed  to  be  the  usual  salamalecks, 
that  is  to  say : 

"  Be  ye  welcome,  oh  ye  invited  of  Deity ! " 

Such,  however,  was  my  confidence,  that,  whatever  might 
have  been  said  to  me,  I  should  have  accepted  it  as  a  com- 
pliment. 

We  dismounted,  and  sat  down  upon  a  stone  bench, 
where  coffee  was  soon  served  up  to  us.  In  Algeria  people 
drink  coffee  and  smoke  the  whole  day  long.  It  is  true 
that  this  beverage  is  not  made  so  strong  as  in  France,  and 
the  cups  are  very  small. 

Bou-Allem,  after  lighting  a  pipe,  handed  it  to  me :  it 
was  an  honor  he  did  me  to  let  me  smoke  after  him,  and  I 
could  not  decline  it,  though  I  might  have  preferred  it  to 
be  just  the  "other  way  about." 

As  I  have  already  stated,  I  only  knew  three  or  four 
words  of  Arabic,  and  with  such  a  poor  vocabulary  it  was 
difficult  to  talk  with  my  hosts.  Still,  they  evidenced  great 
joy  at  my  arrival,  for  every  moment  they  renewed  their 
protestations,  while  laying  their  hands  on  their  hearts.  I 


UNSUBSTANTIAL  FARE.  403 

replied  by  similar  signs,  and  hence  had  not  to  draw  on 
my  imagination  to  keep  up  the  conversation. 

Later,  however,  urged  by  an  appetite  whose  prompt 
satisfaction  I  did  not  calculate  on,  I  ventured  on  a  new 
pantomime.  Laying  my  hand  on  the  pit  of  my  stomach, 
and  assuming  a  suffering  air,  I  tried  to  make  Bou-Alleni 
comprehend  that  we  required  more  substantial  food  than 
civil  compliments.  The  intelligent  Arab  understood  me, 
and  gave  orders  for  the  meal  to  be  hastened  on. 

In  the  meanwhile,  and  to  keep  us  quiet,  he  offered,  by 
gestures,  to  show  us  his  apartments. 

We  ascended  a  small  stone  staircase,  and,  on  arriving 
at  the  first  floor,  our  guide  opened  a  door,  which  offered 
this  peculiarity,  that,  to  pass  through  it,  you  were  obliged 
to  lower  your  head  and  lift  your  foot  simultaneously.  In 
other  words,  this  door  was  so  low,  that  a  man  of  ordinary 
height  could  not  pass  through  it  without  stooping,  and,  as 
the  floor  was  raised,  you  were  obliged  to  step  up  on  it. 

This  chamber  was  the  bash-aga's  reception-room ;  the 
walls  were  covered  with  red  arabesques  relieved  with  gold, 
and  the  ground  strown  with  magnificent  Turkey  carpets. 
Four  divans,  covered  with  rich  silk  stuffs,  completed  the 
entire  furniture,  with  a  small  mahogany  table,  on  which 
were  spread  pipes,  porcelain  coffee  cups,  and  other  objects 
especially  used  by  Mussulmen.  Among  them,  Bou-Allem 
took  up  a  flask  filled  with  rose-water,  and  poured  it  on  our 
hands.  The  perfume  was  delicate ;  unfortunately,  our 
host  wished  to  do  things  grandly,  and  in  order  to  show  the 
esteem  he  held  us  in,  employed  the  rest  of  the  bottle  in 
literally  sprinkling  us  from  head  to  foot. 

We  visited  two  other  large  rooms,  more  simply  deco- 
rated than  the  first,  and  in  one  of  them  was  an  enormous 
divan.  Bou-Allem  made  us  comprehend  that  was  where 
he  slept. 


404  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

These  details  would  have  been  very  interesting  at  any 
other  moment,  but  we  were  dying  of  hunger,  and,  accord- 
ing to  the  proverb,  "  a  starving  belly  has  neither  eyes  nor 
cars."  I  was  just  going  to  recommence  my  famous  panto- 
mime, when,  in  passing  through  a  small  room,  in  which 
the  only  furniture  was  a  carpet,  our  cicerone  opened  his 
mouth,  pointed  with  his  finger  that  something  was  to  be 
placed  in  it,  and  thus  made  us  understand  we  were  in  the 
dining-room.  I  laid  my  hand  on  my  heart  to  express  all 
the  pleasure  I  experienced. 

By  Bou-Allem's  invitation  we  sat  down  on  the  carpet, 
round  a  large  waiter  put  down  in  place  of  a  table. 

Once  seated,  two  Arabs  came  in  to  wait  on  us. 

In  France,  servants  wait  with  their  heads  uncovered  ; 
in  Algeria,  they  keep  on  their  head-covering ;  but,  in  re- 
turn, as  a  mark  of  respect,  they  leave  their  shoes  at  the 
door,  and  serve  barefooted.  Between  our  servants  and 
those  of  the  Arabs  the  only  difference  is  from  head  to 
foot. 

We  were  the  only  guests  seated  with  Bou-Allem,  for  the 
son  had  not  the  honor  of  dining  with  his  father,  who 
always  ate  alone. 

A  species  of  salad-bowl,  filled  with  something  like  pump- 
kin soup,  was  brought  in,  and  I  am  very  fond  of  that  dish. 

"What  a  fortunate  thing,"  I  said  to  my  wife,  "Bou- 
Allem  has  guessed  my  taste ;  how  I  will  do  honor  to  his 
cook." 

My  host,  doubtlessly,  understood  the  meaning  of  my 
remark,  for,  after  offering  us  each  a  clumsy  wooden  spoon, 
he  begged  us  to  follow  his  example,  and  plunged  his 
weapon  in  up  to  the  wrist.  We  imitated  him. 

I  soon  took  out  an  enormous  spoonful,  which  I  hastily 
lifted  to  my  mouth ;  but  I  had  scarce  tasted  it  ere  I  ex- 
claimed with  a  horrible  grimace : 


ARAB  POLITENESS.  405 

"Pouah  !  what  can  that  be?     My  mouth  is  on  fire." 

My  wife  withdrew  the  spoonful  she  had  raised  to  her 
lips,  but  either  her  appetite  or  her  curiosity  induced  her 
to  taste  it.  She  did  so,  but  soon  joined  me  in  coughing. 
It  was  a  regular  pepper-pot. 

While  apparently  vexed  at  this  contretemps,  our  host 
swallowed  enormous  spoonfuls  of  the  soup,  and  each  time 
he  stretched  out  his  arm  with  an  air  of  beatitude,  in- 
tended to  convey  to  us,  "And  yet  how  good  it  is." 

The  soup-tureen  was  taken  away  almost  empty. 

"  Bueno  !  bueno  !"  Bou-Allem  exclaimed,  pointing  to  a 
dish  just  placed  before  us. 

Bueno  is  Spanish,  and  the  worthy  bash-aga,  knowing 
two  or  three  words  of  that  language,  was  not  vexed  to 
display  his  learning  to  us. 

This  famous  dish  was  a  species  of  ragofit,  bearing  some 
affinity  to  haricot  mutton.  When  I  lived  at  Belleville, 
this  was  the  masterpiece  of  Mme.  Auguste,  and  I  always 
gave  it  a  very  good  reception.  Hence,  in  remembrance 
of  my  good  old  cook,  I  was  about  to  fall  on  the  ragofit ; 
but  I  looked  around  in  vain  for  a  fork,  a  knife,  or  even 
the  wooden  spoon  handed  us  for  the  soup. 

Bou-Allem  released  me  from  the  dilemma ;  he  showed 
me,  by  himself  plunging  his  fingers  into  the  dish,  that  a 
fork  was  a  very  useless  instrument. 

As  hunger  tormented  us,  we  overcame  our  repugnance, 
and  my  wife,  to  encourage  me,  delicately  fished  up  a  small 
piece  of  mutton.  The  sauce  was  very  highly  spiced,  but 
still,  by  eating  very  little  meat  and  a  great  deal  of  bread, 
we  were  enabled  to  render  the  poison  innocuous. 

That  I  might  be  agreeable  to  my  host,  I  unfortunately 
repeated  the  Spanish  words  he  had  taught  me.  This  com- 
pliment, which  ho  believed  sincere,  caused  him  extreme 


406  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

pleasure,  and  he  drew  out  from  the  dish  a  bone  with  meat 
hanging  to  it,  and  after  tearing  off  some  pieces  with  his 
nails,  offered  them  politely  to  my  wife. 

I  wondered  how  Madame  Houdin  would  get  rid  of  this 
singular  present ;  but  she  did  so  much  more  cleverly  than 
I  expected.  Bou-Allem  having  turned  his  head  to  give  an 
order,  the  piece  of  meat  was  restored  to  the  dish  with 
astounding  craft,  and  we  were  much  inclined  to  laugh  when 
our  host,  unsuspectingly,  took  this  very  piece  of  mutton 
for  his  own  gratification. 

We  welcomed  with  great  satisfaction  a  roast  fowl  served 
after  the  ragout ;  I  took  on  myself  to  carve  it,  or,  in  other 
words,  to  tear  it  asunder  with  my  fingers,  and  I  did  so 
most  delicately.  We  found  it  so  much  to  our  taste  that 
not  a  particle  was  left. 

The  came  other  dishes,  which  we  tasted  with  due  care, 
among  them  being  the  famous  "couscoussou,"  which  I 
found  detestable,  and  the  meal  terminated  with  sweet- 
meats. 

Our  hands  were  in  a  deplorable  condition,  and  an  Arab 
brought  us  each  a  basin  and  soap  to  wash  them. 

Bou-Allem,  after  performing  the  operation,  and  washing 
his  beard  with  the  greatest  care,  took  a  handful  of  soap- 
suds and  rinsed  his  mouth.  This  was  the  only  liquor 
served  at  table. 

After  dinner  we  proceeded  to  another  room,  and,  on  the 
road  were  joined  by  a  young  Arab  whom  Bou-Allem  had 
sent  for.  This  man  had  been  for  a  long  time  servant  at 
Algiers,  and  spoke  French  excellently;  hence  he  would 
serve  as  our  interpreter. 

We  entered  a  small  room  very  elegantly  decorated,  in 
which  were  two  divans. 

"  This,"  our  host  said,  "  is  the  room  reserved  for  guests 


OUR  VISITORS.  407 

of  distinction ;  you  can  go  to  bed  when  you  like,  but  if 
you  are  not  tired,  I  would  ask  your  leave  to  present  to 
you  several  chief  men  of  my  tribe,  who,  having  heard  of 
you,  wish  to  see  you." 

"Let  them  come  in,"  I  said,  after  consulting  Madame 
Houdin,  "we  will  receive  them  with  pleasure." 

The  interpreter  went  out,  and  soon  brought  in  a  dozen 
old  men,  among  whom  were  a  Marabout  and  several 
talebs,  whom  the  bash-aga  appeared  to  hold  in  great  de- 
ference. 

They  sat  down  in  a  circle  on  carpets  and  kept  up  a  very 
lively  conversation  about  my  performances  at  Algiers. 
This  learned  society  discussed  the  probability  of  the  mar- 
vels related  by  the  chief  of  the  tribe,  who  took  great 
pleasure  in  depicting  his  impressions  and  those  of  his  co- 
religionists at  the  sight  of  the  miracles  I  had  performed. 

Each  lent  an  attentive  ear  to  these  stories,  and  regarded 
me  with  a  species  of  veneration ;  the  Marabout  alone  dis- 
played a  degree  of  scepticism,  and  asserted  that  the  spec- 
tators had  been  duped  by  what  he  called  a  vision. 

Jealous  of  my  reputation  as  a  French  sorcerer,  I  thought 
I  must  perform  before  the  unbeliever  a  few  tricks  as  a  spe- 
cimen of  my  late  performance.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  as- 
tounding my  audience,  but  the  Marabout  continued  to 
offer  me  a  systematic  opposition,  by  which  his  neighbors 
were  visibly  annoyed  ;  the  poor  fellow  did  not  suspect, 
though,  what  I  had  in  store  for  him. 

My  antagonist  wore  in  his  sash  a  watch,  the  chain  of 
which  hung  outside. 

I  believe  I  have  already  mentioned  a  certain  talent  I 
possess  of  filching  a  watch,  a  pin,  a  pocket-book,  &c.,  with 
a  skill  by  which  several  of  my  friends  have  been  vic- 
timized. 


408  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

T  was  fortunately  born  with  an  honest  and  upright  heart, 
or  this  peculiar  talent  might  have  led  me  too  far.  When 
I  felt  inclined  for  a  joke  of  this  nature,  I  turned  it  to  profit 
in  a  conjuring  trick,  or  waited  till  my  friend  took  leave  of 
me,  and  then  recalled  him :  "  Stay,"  I  would  say,  handing 
him  the  stolen  article,  "  let  this  serve  as  a  lesson  to 
put  you  on  your  guard  against  persons  less  honest  than 
myself." 

But  to  return  to  our  Marabout.  I  had  stolen  his  watch 
as  I  passed  near  him  and  slipped  into  its  place  a  five-franc 
piece. 

To  prevent  his  detecting  it,  and  while  waiting  till  I 
could  profit  by  my  larceny,  I  improvised  a  trick.  After 
juggling  away  Bou-Allem's  rosary,  I  made  it  pass  into 
one  of  the  numerous  slippers  left  at  the  door  by  the  guests ; 
this  shoe  was  next  found  to  be  full  of  coins,  and  to  end 
this  little  scene  comically,  I  made  five-franc  pieces  come 
out  of  the  noses  of  the  spectators.  They  took  such  plea- 
sure in  this  trick  that  I  fancied  I  should  never  terminate 
it.  "Douros!  douros !"  they  shouted,  as  they  twitched 
their  noses.  I  willingly  acceded  to  their  request,  and  the 
douros  issued  at  command. 

The  delight  was  so  great  that  several  Arabs  rolled  on 
the  ground ;  this  coarsely  expressed  joy  on  the  part  of 
Mohammedans  was  worth  frenzied  applause  to  me. 

I  pretended  to  keep  aloof  from  the  Marabout,  who,  as  I 
expected,  remained  serious  and  impassive. 

When  calm  was  restored,  my  rival  began  speaking  hur- 
riedly to  his  neighbors,  as  if  striving  to  dispel  their  illu- 
sion, and,  not  succeeding,  he  addressed  me  through  the 
interpreter : 

"You  will  not  deceive  me  in  that  way,"  he  said,  with  a 
crafty  look. 


A  MARABOUT  PUZZLED.  409 

"Why  so?" 

"  Because  I  don't  believe  in  your  power." 

"  Ah,  indeed !  Well,  then,  if  you  do  not  believe  in  my 
power,  I  will  compel  you  to  believe  in  my  skill." 

"Neither  in  one  nor  the  other." 

I  was  at  this  moment  the  whole  length  of  the  room  from 
the  Marabout. 

"  Stay,"  I  said  to  him ;  "  you  see  this  five-franc  piece." 

"Yes." 

"  Close  your  hand  firmly,  for  the  piece  will  go  into  it  in 
spite  of  yourself." 

"I  am  ready,"  the  Arab  said,  in  an  incredulous  voice, 
as  he  held  out  his  tightly  closed  fist. 

I  took  the  piece  at  the  end  of  my  fingers,  so  that  the 
assembly  might  all  see  it,  then,  feigning  to  throw  it  at  the 
Marabout,  it  disappeared  at  the  word  "Pass  !" 

My  man  opened  his  hand,  and,  finding  nothing  in  it, 
shrugged  his  shoulders,  as  if  to  say,  "  You  see,  I  told 
you  so." 

I  was  well  aware  the  piece  was  not  there,  but  it  was 
important  to  draw  the  Marabout's  attention  momenta- 
rily from  the  sash,  and  for  this  purpose  I  employed  the 
feint. 

"That  does  not  surprise  me,"  I  replied,  "for  I  threw 
the  piece  with  such  strength  that  it  we-nt  right  through 
your  hand,  and  has  fallen  into  your  sash.  Being  afraid 
I  might  break  your  watch  by  the  blow,  I  called  it  to 
me:  here  it  is!"  And  I  showed  him  the  watch  in  my 
hand. 

The  Marabout  quickly  put  his  hand  in  his  waist-belt, 
to  assure  himself  of  the  truth,  and  was  quite  stupefied  at 
finding  the  five-franc  piece. 

The  spectators  were  astounded.      Some   among  them 


410  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

began  telling  their  beads  with  a  vivacity  evidencing  a 
certain  agitation  of  mind ;  but  the  Marabout  frowned 
without  saying  a  word,  and  I  saw  he  was  spelling  over 
some  evil  design. 

"  I  now  believe  in  your  supernatural  power,"  he  said  ; 
"you  are  a  real  sorcerer;  hence,  I  hope  you  will  not  fear 
to  repeat  here  a  trick  you  performed  in  your  theatre ;" 
and  offering  me  two  pistols  he  held  concealed  beneath  his 
burnous,  he  added,  "  Come,  choose  one  of  these  pistols ; 
we  will  load  it,  and  I  will  fire  at  you.  You  have  nothing 
to  fear,  as  you  can  ward  off  all  blows." 

I  confess  I  was  for  a  moment  staggered;  I  sought  a 
subterfuge  and  found  none.  All  eyes  were  fixed  upon 
me,  and  a  reply  was  anxiously  awaited. 

The  Marabout  was  triumphant. 

Bou-Allem,  being  aware  that  my  tricks  were  only  the 
result  of  skill,  was  angry  that  his  guest  should  be  so  pes- 
tered ;  hence  he  began  reproaching  the  Marabout.  I  stop- 
ped him,  however,  for  an  idea  had  occurred  to  me  which 
would  save  me  from  my  dilemma,  at  least  temporarily ; 
then,  addressing  my  adversary  : 

"You  are  aware,"  I  said,  with  assurance,  "that  I  re- 
quire a  talisman  in  order  to  be  invulnerable,  and,  unfor- 
tunately, I  have  left  mine  at  Algiers." 

The  Marabout  began  laughing  with  an  incredulous  air. 

"Still,"  I  continued,  "I  can,  by  remaining  six  hours 
at  prayers,  do  without  the  talisman,  and  defy  your  weapon. 
To-morrow  morning,  at  eight  o'clock,  I  will  allow  you  to 
fire  at  me  in  the  presence  of  these  Arabs,  who  were  wit- 
nesses of  your  challenge." 

Bou-Allem,  astonished  at  such  a  promise,  asked  me 
once  again  if  this  offer  were  serious,  and  if  he  should  in- 
vite the  company  for  the  appointed  hour.  On  my  affirrna- 


MI  PREPARATIONS.  411 

tivc,  they  agreed  to  meet  before  the  stone  bench  I  have 
already  alluded  to. 

I  did  not  spend  my  night  at  prayers,  as  may  be  sup- 
posed, but  I  employed  about  two  hours  in  ensuring  my 
invulnerability ;  then,  satisfied  with  the  result,  I  slept 
soundly,  for  I  was  terribly  tired. 

By  eight  the  next  morning  we  had  breakfasted,  our 
horses  were  saddled,  and  our  escort  was  awaiting  the 
signal  for  our  departure,  which  would  take  place  after  the 
famous  experiment. 

None  of  the  guests  were  absent,  and,  indeed,  a  great 
number  of  Arabs  came  in  to  swell  the  crowd. 

The  pistols  were  handed  me ;  I  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  vents  were  clear,  and  the  Marabout  put  in  a 
fair  charge  of  powder  and  drove  the  wad  home.  Among 
the  bullets  produced,  I  chose  one  which  I  openly  put  in 
the  pistol,  and  which  was  then  also  covered  with  paper. 

The  Arab  watched  all  these  movements,  for  his  honor 
was  at  stake. 

We  went  through  the  same  process  with  the  second  pis- 
tol and  the  solemn  moment  arrived. 

Solemn,  indeed,  it  seemed  to  everybody  —  to  the  spec- 
tators who  were  uncertain  of  the  issue,  to  Madame  Houdin, 
who  had  in  vain  besought  me  to  give  up  this  trick,  for  she 
feared  the  result  —  and  solemn  also  to  me,  for  as  my  new 
trick  did  not  depend  on  any  of  the  arrangements  made  at 
Algiers,  I  feared  an  error,  an  act  of  treachery — I  knew 
not  what. 

Still  I  posted  myself  at  fifteen  paces  from  the  sheik, 
without  evincing  the  slightest  emotion. 

The  Marabout  immediately  seized  one  of  the  pistols, 
and,  on  my  giving  the  signal,  took  a  deliberate  aim  at  me. 
The  pistol  went  off,  and  the  ball  appeared  between  my  teeth. 


412  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUBIN. 

More  angry  than  ever,  my  rival  tried  to  seize  the  other 
pistol,  but  I  succeeded  in  reaching  it  before  him. 

"You  could  not  injure  me,"  I  said  to  him,  "but  you 
shall  now  see  that  my  aim  is  more  dangerous  than  yours. 
Look  at  that  wall." 

I  pulled  the  trigger,  and  on  the  newly  whitewashed 
wall  appeared  a  large  patch  of  blood,  exactly  at  the  spot 
where  I  had  aimed. 

The  Marabout  went  up  to  it,  dipped  his  finger  in  the 
blood,  and,  raising  it  to  his  mouth,  convinced  himself  of 
the  reality.  When  he  acquired  this  certainty,  his  arms 
fell,  and  his  head  was  bowed  on  his  chest,  as  if  he  were 
annihilated. 

It  was  evident  that  for  the  moment  he  doubted  every- 
thing, even  the  Prophet. 

The  spectators  raised  their  eyes  to  heaven,  muttered 
prayers,  and  regarded  me  with  a  species  of  terror. 

This  scene  was  a  triumphant  termination  to  my  per- 
formance. I  therefore  retired,  leaving  the  audience  under 
the  impression  had  I  produced.  We  took  leave  of  Bou- 
Allem  and  his  son,  and  set  off  at  a  gallop. 

The  trick  I  have  just  described,  though  so  curious,  is 
easily  prepared.  I  will  give  a  description  of  it,  while  ex- 
plaining the  trouble  it  took  me. 

As  soon  as  I  was  alone  in  my  room,  I  took  out  of  my 
pistol-case  — without  which  I  never  travel  —  a  bullet  mould. 

I  took  a  card,  bent  up  the  four  edges,  and  thus  made  a 
sort  of  trough,  in  which  I  placed  a  piece  of  wax  taken  from 
one  of  the  candles.  When  it  was  melted,  I  mixed  with  it 
a  little  lamp-black  I  had  obtained  by  putting  the  blade  of 
a  knife  over  the  candle,  and  then  ran  this  composition  in 
the  bullet-mould. 

Had  I  allowed  the  liquid  to  get  quite  cold,  the  ball 


CONJURING  BULLETS.  413 

would  have  been  full  and  solid ;  but  in  about  ten  seconds 
I  turned  the  mould  over,  and  the  portions  of  the  wax  not 
yet  set  ran  out,  leaving  a  hollow  ball  in  the  mould.  This 
operation  is  the  same  as  that  used  in  making  tapers,  the 
thickness  of  the  outside  depending  on  the  time  the  liquid 
has  been  left  in  the  mould. 

I  wanted  a  second  ball,  which  I  made  rather  more  solid 
than  the  other ;  and  this  I  filled  with  blood,  and  covered 
the  orifice  with  a  lump  of  wax.  An  Irishman  had  once* 
taught  me  the  way  to  draw  blood  from  the  thumb,  without 
feeling  any  pain,  and  I  employed  it  on  this  occcasion  to 
fill  my  bullet. 

Bullets  thus  prepared  bear  an  extraordinary  resemblance 
to  lead,  and  are  easily  mistaken  for  that  metal  when  seen 
at  a  short  distance  off. 

With  this  explanation,  the  trick  will  be  easily  under- 
stood. After  showing  the  leaden  bullet  to  the  spectators, 
I  changed  it  for  my  hollow  ball,  and  openly  put  the  latter 
into  the  pistol.  By  pressing  the  wad  tightly  down,  the 
wax  broke  into  small  pieces,  and  could  not  touch  me  at  the 
distance  I  stood. 

At  the  moment  the  pistol  was  fired,  I  opened  my  mouth 
to  display  the  lead  bullet  I  held  between-  my  teeth,  while 
the  other  pistol  contained  the  bullet  filled  with  blood,  which 
bursting  against  the  wall,  left  its  imprint,  though  the  wax 
had  flown  to  atoms. 

After  a  pleasant  journey,  we  reached  Milianah  at  four  in 
the  afternoon.  The  head  of  the  Arab  office,  Captain  Bour- 
seret,  received  us  most  kindly,  and  begged  us  to  regard 
his  house  as  our  own  during  the  whole  time  of  our  stay. 

M.  Bourseret  resided  with  his  mother,  and  that  exceK 
lent  lady  showed  Madame  Robert-Houdin  all  those  deli- 
cate attentions  which  only  a  friend  of  long  standing  could 
have  claimed. 


414  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

Our  trip  across  the  D'jendel  had  fatigued  us,  hence  we 
passed  the  greater  portion  of  the  next  day  in  resting  our- 
selves. 

At  night,  the  captain  gave  a  grand  dinner,  to  which  the 
general  commanding,  the  lieutenant-colonel,  and  some 
notabilities  of  the  town  were  invited.  After  the  repast,  I 
thought  I  could  not  better  repay  my  polite  reception  than 
by  giving  a  small  performance,  in  which  I  displayed  all  my 
skill.  As  I  had  told  M.  Bourseret,  during  the  day,  of 
my  intention,  he  had  invited  a  large  evening  party ;  and  I 
must  suppose  my  experiments  pleased,  if  I  may  judge  by 
the  greeting  they  received.  Besides,  my  public  were  so 
favorably  disposed  towards  me,  that  they  often  applauded 
on  trust,  as  they  could  not  all  see  very  well. 

Milianah  was  the  end  of  my  journey.  I  could  only  remain 
three  days,  if  I  wished  to  return  to  Algiers  in  time  for  the 
steamer  that  would  convey  us  to  France. 

M.  Bourseret  arranged  an  excursion  for  the  second  day 
of  my  stay  at  his  house  to  visit  the  Beni-Menasseh,  a 
nomadic  tribe  at  that  time  encamped  a  few  leagues  from 
Milianah. 

At  six  in  the  morning  we  took  horse,  accompanied  by 
some  of  the  captain's  friends,  and  went  down  the  moun- 
tain on  which  the  town  is  built. 

We  were  escorted  by  a  dozen  Arabs  attached  to  the 
office,  all  clothed  in  red  mantles,  and  armed  with  guns. 

Orders  had  certainly  been  given  beforehand,  for,  on 
reaching  the  plain,  at  the  first  goum  we  passed  through, 
ten  Arabs  mounted  their  horses  and  formed  our  escort. 
A  little  further  on  another  troop  joined  the  first,  and  our 
band,  acting  like  a  rolling  snow-ball,  ended  by  attaining 
considerable  proportions.  It  was  composed  of  about  two 
hundred  Arabs. 


A  FANTASIA.  415 

After  two  hours'  inarch,  we  quitted  the  high  road,  and 
entered  a  plain  that  extended  an  immense  distance  in 
front  of  us. 

Suddenly,  the  Arabs  who  accompanied  us,  probably  in 
obedience  to  a  signal  from  the  chief,  started  off  at  a  gallop, 
and  proceeded  five  or  six  hundred  yards  ahead.  There 
the  troop  divided,  formed  four  deep,  and  the  men  of  the 
first  file  rushed  upon  us,  uttering  frenzied  cries  as  they 
held  their  guns  to  their  shoulders  and  prepared  to  fire. 

Our  little  band  happened  to  be  in  front  at  this  moment. 
The  Arabs  rushed  upon  us  with  the  velocity  of  a  steam- 
engine,  and  in  a  few  seconds  we  should  have  suffered  a  col- 
lision that  must  have  crushed  us  all. 

A  sound  of  firing  was  heard :  all  the  horsemen  had  dis- 
charged their  guns  with  admirable  precision  over  our  heads. 
Their  horses  plunged,  turned  on  their  hind  legs,  and  started 
off  at  full  speed  to  join  the  troop. 

The  Arab  might  have  been  taken  for  a  perfect  Centaur, 
when  we  saw  him,  while  riding  at  this  frantic  speed,  load 
his  gun,  and  perform  with  it  all  the  tricks  peculiar  to  the 
drum-major. 

The  first  file  of  horsemen  had  scarce  retired  when  the 
second  came  forward,  and  went  through  a  similar  perform- 
ance, which  was  repeated  at  least  twenty  times.  Our  cap- 
tain had  arranged  for  us  the  surprise  of  a  fantasia. 

At  the  noise  of  the  firing  some  of  our  horses  had  started, 
but,  the  first  moment  of  surprise  passed,  they  remained 
perfectly  quiet.  My  wife's  horse  was  an  animal  of  ap- 
proved docility,  hence  it  was  far  less  affected  than  its 
rider ;  still,  every  one  did  my  wife  the  justice  of  stating 
that,  after  the  first  shock  was  over,  she  remained  as  calm 
as  the  boldest  warrior  among  us. 

The  fantasia  terminated,  the  Arabs  took  their  place  in 


416  *    MEMOIRS  OP  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

the  escort  again,  and  within  an  hour  we  reached  the  tents 
of  the  Beni-Menasseh. 

The  Aga  Ben-Amara  was  awaiting  us.  On  our  arrival 
he  advanced  towards  us,  and  humbly  kissed  the  captain's 
hand,  while  other  men  of  his  tribe,  in  order  to  do  honor  to 
our  visit,  discharged  their  guns  almost  under  our  horses' 
noses.  But  men  and  beasts  were  case-hardened,  and  there 
was  not  the  slightest  movement  in  our  ranks. 

Ben-Amara  conducted  us  into  his  tent,  where  each  sat 
down  at  his  ease  on  a  large  carpet. 

Our  arrival  caused  a  sensation  in  the  tribe,  for  while 
we  were  smoking  and  drinking  coffee  a  large  number  of 
Arabs,  impelled  by  curiosity,  ranged  themselves  in  a  circle 
round  us,  and  in  their  immobility  resembled  an  avenue  of 
bronze  statues. 

We  devoted  about  an  hour  to  the  pleasures  of  conversa- 
tion, waiting  for  the  diffa  (meal),  which  we  were  impatiently 
desiring.  We  even  began  to  find  the  time  very  long,  when 
we  saw  a  procession  approaching,  with  banners  at  its  head. 

These  banners  puzzled  me,  and  seemed  very  strange,  for 
they  were  folded  up.  All  at  once  the  ranks  of  our  peace- 
able spectators  opened,  and  my  surprise  was  great  on  find- 
ing what  I  took  for  banners  were  only  sheep  roasted  whole 
and  spitted  on  long  poles. 

Two  of  these  sheep-bearers  marched  in  front.  They 
were  followed  by  some  twenty  men,  ranged  in  line,  each 
of  whom  bore  one  of  the  dishes  -intended  to  compose  our 
diffa. 

These  consisted  of  ragouts  and  roasts  of  every  descrip- 
tion, the  inevitable  "couscoussou,"  and,  lastly,  a  dozen 
dishes  of  dessert,  the  handiwork  of  Ben-Amara's  wives. 

This  perambulating  dinner  was  a  delicious  sight,  espe- 
cially for  people  whose  appetites  had  been  singularly 


STRANGE  BANNERS.  417 

sharpened  by  the  fresh  air  and  the  emotions  produced  by 
the  fantasia. 

The  head  cook  marched  in  front,  and,  like  M.  Malbroug's 
officer,  carried  nothing ;  but,  so  soon  as  he  joined  us,  he 
set  to  work  actively.  Seizing  one  of  the  sheep,  he  un- 
spitted  it,  and  laid  it  before  us  on  a  lordly  dish. 

To  my  companions,  nearly  all  Algerian  veterans,  this 
gigantic  roast  was  no  novelty ;  as  for  my  wife  and  myself, 
the  sight  of  such  food  would  have  been  enough  to  pacify 
our  hunger  under  other  circumstances,  but  now  we  has- 
tened to  join  the  circle  round  this  gigantic  dish,  which  was 
worthy  of  Gargantua. 

We  were  obliged,  as  at  Bou-Allem's,  to  pull  the  animal 
piece-meal  with  our  fingers ;  each  tore  up  a  strip  at  will  — 
I  must  confess,  at  starting,  with  some  repugnance.  Then, 
impelled  by  a  ferocious  appetite,  we  fell  on  the  sheep  like 
wolves,  and  I  know  not  whether  it  was  owing  to  the  sauce 
we  all  had,  but  the  guests  unanimously  declared  they  had 
never  eaten  anything  so  good  as  this  roast  mutton. 

When  we  had  selected  the  most  delicate  pieces,  our  cook 
proposed  to  produce  the  other  animal,  but,  on  our  refusal, 
he  served  up  roast  fowls,  to  which  we  did  our  manly  devoir. 
Then,  turning  up  our  noses  at  the  pepper-pot  and  "  cous- 
coussou,"  which  smelled  strongly  of  rancid  butter,  wex 
made  up  for  the  want  of  bread  during  the  meal  by  nibbling 
excellent  little  cakes. 

There  was  something  really  princely  about  the  aga's 
reception,  so,  to  thank  him,  I  proposed  to  give  a  small  per- 
formance before  my  numerous  spectators,  who,  in  their 
passionate  admiration,  could  not  leave  the  ground.  By 
their  chief's  orders  they  drew  nearer  and  formed  a  circle 
round  me.  The  captain  was  kind  enough  to  act  as  my 
interpreter,  and  thanks  to  him,  I  was  enabled  to  perform 

2B 


418  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

a  dozen  of  my  best  tricks.  The  effect  produced  was  such 
that  I  could  not  possibly  continue,  for  every  one  fled  at 
my  approach.  Ben-Ainara  assured  us  they  took  me  for 
Shaitan  himself,  but,  had  I  worn  the  Mohammedan  cos- 
tume, they  would  have  cast  themselves  at  my  feet  as  an 
envoy  from  Heaven. 

On  our  return  to  Milianah,  the  captain,  to  crown  this 
delicious  day  of  pleasure,  gave  us  the  spectacle  of  a  chase, 
in  which  the  Arabs,  galloping  at  full  speed,  caught  hares 
and  partridges  without  once  firing. 

The  following  day  we  took  leave  of  M.  Bourseret  and 
his  excellent  mother,  and  proceeded  towards  Algiers,  but 
not  by  a  cross-road,  for  we  had  had  enough  of  them  in 
traversing  the  D  jendel.  This  sort  of  party  of  pleasure, 
in  reality  a  party  of  pain,  may  be  agreeable  for  once,  for 
its  serves  to  revive  in  our  inconstant  minds  the  remem- 
brance of  the  comfort  we  have  voluntarily  given  up. 
Hence  we  took  the  diligence  to  Algiers,  and  on  this  occa- 
sion fully  appreciated  all  the  advantage  of  this  mode  of 
transport. 

The  Alexander  steamer,  which  had  brought  us  from 
France,  was  to  start  within  two  days,  and  this  was  all  the 
time  I  had  to  take  leave  and  thank  all  those  who  had 
shown  me  so  much  kindness. 

On  quitting  Algiers  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  being  con- 
ducted on  board  the  vessel  by  two  officers  of  high  rank, 
whose  kindness  I  can  never  repay.  M.  Palin  du  Pare, 
Colonel  of  the  Marine  Staff,  and  Colonel  de  Neveu  did  not 
leave  me  until  the  wheels  had  begun  to  turn,  and  those 
gentlemen  were  the  last  whose  hands  I  pressed  on  the 
African  coast. 

Were  I  to  describe  all  my  travelling  incidents,  I  should 
have  a  great  deal  to  narrate  before  I  reached  my  hermit- 


A  TERRIBLE  STORM.  419 

age  at  St.  Gervais ;  but  I  will  adhere  to  my  expressed 
intention  of  only  alluding  to  events  connected  with  my 
professional  life. 

A  frightful  storm  at  sea  —  a  tornado  at  the  summit  of 
the  Pyrenees  —  death  staring  us  in  the  face  twenty  timea 
—  are  events  as  terrible  as  they  are  interesting  to  relate. 
But  these  moving  episodes,  which  affect  all  alike,  have 
been  already  described  by  far  more  skillful  pens  than 
mine,  hence  my  description  would  offer  no  novelty ;  I  will 
content  myself,  therefore,  with  giving  a  summary  of  this 
terrible  return  to  France. 

A  tempest  assailed  us  in  the  Gulf  of  Lyons,  and  our 
engines  were  disabled.  Our  vessel,  after  being  tossed 
about  for  nine  days  by  the  winds,  at  length  reached  the 
coast  of  Spain,  and  we  managed  to  make  the  port  of  Bar- 
celona, where  the  authorities  would  not  allow  us  to  land, 
as  we  had  no  passports  for  Spain.  We  coasted  this  inhos- 
pitable country  during  a  frightful  storm,  and  at  length 
reached  the  little  port  of  Rosas,  where  we  intended  to  ride 
out  the  tempest. 

Here  I  landed,  and  crossed  the  Pyrenees  in  an  open 
carriage,  a  hurricane,  the  result  of  the  tempest  at  sea, 
threatening  to  hurl  us  into  an  abyss  at  every  moment. 
At  last  we  safely  reached  France,  and  Marseilles,  where 
I  was  obliged  to  fulfil  a  promise  made  to  the  managers 
of  the  Grand  Theatre  on  my  former  passage  through  the 
town. 

I  was,  indeed,  famously  recompensed  for  the  fatigues 
and  dangers  of  my  journey;  for  the  Marseillais  displayed 
towards  me  such  unexampled  kindness,  that  these  last  per- 
formances will  ever  remain  on  my  mind  as  those  in  which 
I  received  the  greatest  applause.  I  could  not  take  my 
leave  of  the  public  in  a  more  solemn  way,  and  I  hastened 
my  return  to  St.  Gervais. 


420  MEMOIES  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 


CONCLUSION. 

I  CAN,  in  ending  this  work,  repeat  what  I  said  at  the 
beginning  of  my  penultimate  chapter :  "  I  have  reached 
the  object  of  my  every  hope."  But  this  time,  if  it  pleases 
God,  as  my  guide  Muhammad  would  say,  no  temptation 
will  again  come  to  modify  my  plans  of  happiness.  I 
nope  still  for  a  long  time  (always  if  it  pleases  God)  to  en- 
joy that  gentle  and  peaceful  existence  which  I  had  scarce 
tasted  when  ambition  and  curiosity  took  me  to  Algiers. 

On  returning  home,  I  arranged  round  my  study  my  per- 
forming instruments,  my  faithful  comrades,  I  may  almost 
say,  my  dear  friends;  henceforth  I  intended  to  devote 
myself  to  my  darling  study,  the  application  of  electricity 
to  mechanism. 

It  must  not  be  believed  that,  for  that  purpose,  I  disown 
the  art  to  which  I  owe  so  much  pleasure.  The  thought  is 
far  from  me,  I  am  more  than  ever  proud  of  having  culti- 
vated it,  as  to  it  alone  I  owe  the  happiness  of  devoting 
myself  to  my  new  studies.  Besides,  I  diverge  from  it  less 
than  my  readers  might  be  inclined  to  suppose,  for  I  have, 
during  a  long  period,  applied  electricity  to  mechanism, 
and  I  must  confess  —  if  my  readers  have  not  already 
guessed  it — that  electricity  played  an  important  part  in 
many  of  my  experiments.  In  reality,  my  labors  of  to-day 
only  differ  from  the  old  ones  in  the  form ;  but  they  are 
still  experiments. 


THE  CURTAIN  DROPS.  421 

A  lingering  love  for  my  old  clockmaking  trade  has  made 
me  choose  chronornetro-electrical  works  as  the  objects  of 
my  study.  I  have  adopted  as  my  motto,  "  to  popularize 
electric  clocks  by  making  them  as  simple  and  exact  as  possi- 
ble." And  as  art  always  supposes  an  ideal  which  the 
artist  seeks  to  realize,  I  already  dream  of  the  day  when 
the  electric  wires,  issuing  from  a  single  regulator,  will 
radiate  through  the  whole  of  France,  and  bear  the  precise 
time  to  the  largest  towns  and  the  most  modest  villages. 

In  the  meanwhile,  devoted  to  the  sacred  cause  of  pro- 
gress, I  labor  incessantly  in  the  hope  that  my  humble  dis- 
coveries will  be  of  some  service  in  the  solution  of  this 
important  problem. 

My  performance  is  ended  (I  must  remind  my  readers 
that  I  offered  them  my  narrative  under  this  title) ;  but  I 
live  in  hope  to  begin  it  again  soon,  for  I  have  still  so  many 
mysteries,  great  and  small,  to  unveil.  Sleight-of-hand  is 
an  immense  quarry  on  which  public  curiosity  can  work  for 
a  long  time  ;  hence  I  do  not  take  leave  of  my  audience,  or 
rather  of  my  readers,  for  in  the  second  form  of  perform 
ance  I  have  adopted,  my  farewell  will  not  be  definitive, 
until  I  have  exhausted  all  that  may  be  said  about  SLEIGHT- 
OF-HAND  AND  ITS  PROFESSORS.  These  two  words  will  serve 
as  the  title  of  the  supplemental  part  of  my  Memoirs.* 

*  It  is  possible  that  M.  Robert-Houdin  intends  to  take  this  revenge, 
owing  to  the  unfair  way  in  which  he  was  treated  during  his  professional 
career.  In  1850,  a  man  who  had  been  seven  years  in  his  service,  and 
in  whom  he  placed  entire  confidence,  allowed  himself  to  be  seduced  by 
the  brilliant  offers  an  amateur  made  him,  and  sold  the  secret  of  some 
of  his  Master's  tricks  at  a  high  price.  Justice  was  appealed  to  and 
stopped  this  disgraceful  traffic :  the  seller  was  awarded  two  years'  im- 
prisonment, but  the  buyer  could  not  be  touched,  and  thus  many  of  M. 
Houdin's  tricks  passed  into  strange  hands. 


422  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

A   COURSE    OF    MIRACLES. 

IT  has  been  said  of  the  augurs,  that  they  could  not  look 
at  each  other  without  a  laugh ;  it  would  be  the  same  with 
the  A'issaoua,  if  Mussulman  blood  did  not  flow  in  their 
veins.  At  any  rate,  there  is  not  one  among  them  who  is 
deceived  as  to  the  pretended  miracles  performed  by  his 
brethren,  but  all  lend  a  hand  to  execute  them  successfully, 
like  a  company  of  mountebanks,  at  the  head  of  whom  is 
the  Mokaddem. 

Even  supposing  that  their  pretended  miracles  could  not 
be  explained,  a  simple  reflection  would  destroy  their  pres- 
tige. The  Aissaoua  call  themselves  invulnerable  —  then, 
let  them  ask  one  of  the  audience  to  place  the  red-hot  iron 
on  their  cheeks,  or  some  other  part  of  their  persons ;  they 
assert  they  are  invulnerable  —  then,  let  them  invite  some 
Zouaves  to  pass  their  sabres  through  them.  After  such  a 
spectacle,  the  most  incredulous  would  bow  before  them. 

Were  I  incombustible  and  invulnerable,  I  should  find  a 
pleasure  in  offering  undoubted  proofs.  I  would  put  my- 
self on  a  spit  before  a  scorching  fire,  and  while  roasting, 
would  amuse  myself  with  eating  a  salad  of  pounded  glass, 
seasoned  with  oil  of  vitriol.  Such  a  sight  would  attract 
the  whole  world,  and  I  should  become  a  prophet. 

But  the  Aissaoua  have  reason  to  be  prudent  in  the  per- 


MIRACLES.  42? 

formances  of  tliese  tricks,  as  I  will  prove.     The  principal 
miracles  are  as  follows : 

1.  Running  a  dagger  into  the  cheek. 

2.  Eating  the  leaves  of  the  prickly  pear. 

3.  Laying  the  stomach  on  the  edge  of  a  sabre. 

4.  Playing  with  serpents. 

5.  Striking  the  arm,  causing  the  blood   to  flow,  and 
stopping  it  instantaneously. 

6.  Eating  pounded  glass. 

7.  Swallowing  pebbles,  bottle-heels,  &c. 

8.  Walking  on  red-hot  iron,  or  passing  the  tongue  over 
a  white-hot  plate  of  iron. 

Let  us  begin  with  the  most  simple  trick,  that  of  thrust- 
ing a  dagger  into  the  cheek. 

The  Arab  who  performed  this  trick  turned  his  back  on 
me  ;  hence  I  could  get  very  near  him  and  watch  his  move- 
ments. He  placed  against  his  cheek  the  point  of  a  dagger, 
which  was  round  and  blunt  as  that  of  a  paper-knife.  The 
flesh,  instead  of  being  pierced,  went  in  for  about  two 
inches  between  the  molars,  which  were  kept  apart,  exactly 
as  a  cake  of  india-rubber  would  do. 

This  trick  is  best  performed  by  thin  and  aged  persons, 
because  the  flesh  of  their  cheeks  is  peculiarly  elastic. 
Kow,  the  A'issaoua  fulfilled  these  conditions  in  every  re- 
spect. 

The  Arab  who  ate  the  prickly  pear  leaves  gave  us  no 
opportunity  of  inspecting  them,  and  I  am  inclined  to  be- 
lieve that  the  leaves  had  been  prepared  so  as  to  do  him 
no  injury,  otherwise  he  would  not  have  neglected  this  im- 
portant point,  which  would  have  doubled  the  merit  of  the 
miracle.  But  even  had  he  shown  them  to  us,  this  man 
went  through  so  many  unneccessary  manoeuvres,  that  he 


424  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

could  very  easily  have  changed  them  for  harmless  leaves. 
In  that  case,  it  would  be  a  fifteenth-rate  trick  of  conju- 
ring. 

In  the  following  experiment,  two  Arabs  held  a  sabre, 
one  by  the  hilt,  the  other  by  the  point ;  a  third  then  came 
forward,  and  after  raising  his  clothes  so  as  to  leave  the 
abdomen  quite  bare,  laid  himself  flat  on  the  edge  of  the 
blade,  while  a  fourth  mounted  on  his  back,  and  seemed  to 
press  the  whole  weight  of  his  body  on  him. 

This  trick  may  be  easily  explained. 

Nothing  proves  to  the  audience  that  the  sabre  is  really 
sharpened,  or  that  the  edge  is  more  cutting  than  the  back, 
although  the  Arab  who  holds  it  by  the  point  is  careful  to 
wrap  it  up  in  a  handkerchief;  in  this  imitating  the  jugglers 
who  pretend  they  have  cut  their  finger  with  one  of  the 
daggers  they  use  in  their  tricks. 

Besides,  in  performing  this  trick,  the  invulnerable  turned 
his  back  on  the  audience.  He  knew  the  advantage  to  be 
derived  from  this  circumstance ;  hence,  at  the  moment 
when  about  to  lay  himself  on  the  sabre,  he  very  adroitly 
pulled  back  over  his  stomach  that  portion  of  his  clothing 
he  had  raised.  Lastly,  when  the  fourth  actor  mounted 
on  his  back,  he  rested  his  hands  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
Arabs  who  held  the  sabre.  The  latter  apparently  main- 
tained his  balance,  but,  in  reality,  they  supported  the 
whole  weight  of  his  body.  Hence,  the  only  requirement 
for  this  trick  is  to  have  the  stomach  more  or  less  pressed 
in,  and  I  will  explain  presently  that  this  can  be  effected 
without  any  injury  or  danger. 

As  for  the  Aissaoua,  who  place  their  hands  in  a  bag 
filled  with  serpents,  and  play  with  those  reptiles,  I  will 
rely  on  Colonel  de  Neveu's  judgment.  This  is  what  he 
says  in  his  work  already  quoted : 


POWDERED  GLASS.  425 

"  We  often  pushed  our  incredulity  and  curiosity  so  far 
as  to  order  the  Aissaoua  to  come  to  our  house  with  their 
menagerie.  All  the  animals  they  stated  to  us  were  vipers 
(lifd}i  were  only  innocent  lizards  (hanech),  and  when  we 
offered  to  put  our  hand  in  the  bag  holding  their  reptiles, 
they  hastily  retired,  convinced  that  we  were  not  duped  by 
their  tricks." 

I  will  add  that  these  serpents,  even  had  they  been  of  a 
dangerous  character,  could  have  had  their  teeth  pulled 
out,  so  as  to  be  harmless.  In  support  of  this  assertion, 
I  noticed  that  these  reptiles  left  no  wound  where  they  bit. 

I  did  not  see  the  trick  performed  of  striking  the  arm 
and  making  the  blood  issue ;  but  it  seems  to  me  that  a 
small  sponge  filled  with  ruddle  and  concealed  in  the  stri- 
king hand,  would  be  enough  to  accomplish  the  prodigy. 
On  wiping  the  arm,  the  wound  is  necessarily  cured. 

When  I  was  a  boy,  I  often  made  wine  come  out  of  a 
knife  or  of  my  finger,  by  pressing  a  small  sponge  full  of  the 
liquor  which  I  concealed  in  my  hand. 

I  have  often  seen  men  champ  wine-glasses  between  their 
teeth,  and  not  hurt  themselves ;  but  not  one  of  them  swal- 
lowed the  fragments.  Hence,  it  was  difficult  for  me  to  ex- 
plain this  trick  of  the  Aissaoua,  till,  by  the  assistance 
offered  me  by  a  physician,  I  found  in  the  Dictionnaire  deg 
Sciences  MSdicales  for  1810,  No.  1143,  a  paper  written  by 
Dr.  Lesauvage  on  the  harmlessness  of  powdered  glass. 

This  gentleman,  after  quoting  various  instances  of  peo- 
ple he  had  seen  eat  glass,  thus  describes  various  experi- 
ments he  made  on  animals  : 

"  After  placing  a  great  number  of  dogs,  cats  and  rats 
on  a  dietary  of  pounded  glass,  the  fragments  being  two  to 
three  lines  in  length,  not  one  of  the  animals  was  ill,  and 
on  opening  some  of  them  no  injury  could  be  detected  all 


426  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

along  the  alimentary  canal.  Being  convinced,  too,  of  the 
harmlessness  of  swallowing  glass,  I  determined  to  take 
some  myself  in  the  presence  of  my  colleague,  M.  Cagel, 
of  Professor  Lallemand,  and  seyeral  other  persons.  I 
repeated  this  experiment  several  times,  and  experienced 
not  the  slightest  feeling  of  pain." 

These  authentic  statements  ought  to  have  satisfied  me ; 
still,  I  wished  to  witness  this  singular  phenomenon  with 
my  own  eyes.  Hence,  I  gave  one  of  my  house  cats  an  enor- 
mous ball  of  meat  seasoned  with  pounded  glass.  The 
animal  swallowed  it  with  the  greatest  pleasure,  and  seemed 
even  to  regret  the  end  of  this  succulent  meal.  My  family 
thought  the  cat  booked  for  death,  and  began  deploring  my 
barbarity,  but  the  next  day  the  animal  was  perfectly  well, 
and  sniffed  the  spot  where  on  the  previous  day  it  had  en- 
joyed the  meal. 

Since  that  period,  whenever  I  want  to  indulge  a  friend 
with  this  sight,  I  regale  my  three  cats,  in  turn,  so  as  not 
to  excite  any  jealousy  among  them. 

It  took  me  some  time,  I  confess,  before  I  could  decide 
on  performing  Dr.  Lesauvage's  experiment  on  myself,  and, 
indeed,  I  saw  no  necessity  for  it.  Still,  one  day,  in  the 
presence  of  a  friend,  I  performed  this  bravado,  if  it  be  so ; 
I  also  swallowed  my  bolus,  though  I  was  careful  to  pound 
my  glass  much  finer  than  what  I  gave  to  my  cats.  I  know 
not  whether  it  was  the  effect  of  imagination,  but  I  fancied 
I  enjoyed  my  dinner  much  more  than  usual :  did  I  owe 
this  to  the  pounded  glass  ?  At  any  rate,  it  would  be  a 
strange  way  of  arousing  the  appetite. 

When  the  trick  of  swallowing  bottle-heels  and  pebbles 
was  to  be  done,  the  Aissaoua  really  put  them  in  his  mouth, 
but  I  believe,  I  may  say  certainly,  that  he  removed  them 
at  the  moment  when  he  placed  his  head  in  the  folds  of  the 


THE  SABRE  SWALLOWER.  427 

Mokaddem's  burnous.  However,  had  he  swallowed  them, 
there  would  have  been  nothing  wonderful  about  this,  when 
we  compare  it  with  what  was  done  some  thirty  years  back 
in  France  by  a  mountebank  called  "the  sabre  swallower." 

"  This  man  who  performed  in  the  streets,*  threw  back 
his  head  so  as  to  form  a  straight  line  with  his  throat,  and 
really  thrust  down  his  gullet  a  sabre,  of  which  only  the 
hilt  remained  outside  the  mouth. 

He  also  swallowed  an  egg  without  cracking  it,  or  even< 
nails  and  pebbles,  which  he  caused  to  resound,  by  striking 
his  stomach  with  his  fist. 

These  tricks  were  the  result  of  a  peculiar  formation  in 
the  mountebank's  throat,  but,  if  he  had  lived  among  the 
Aissaoua,  he  would  assuredly  have  been  the  leading  man 
of  the  company. 

Or  what  would  the  Arabs  have  said  had  they  seen  the 
conjurer  who  passed  a  sword  right  through  his  body,  and 
when  thus  spitted,  also  thrust  a  knife  into  either  nostril 
up  to  the  handle  ?  I  witnessed  this  feat,  and  others  have 
probably  done  the  same. 

This  trick  was,  in  reality,  so  terrifying,  that  the  public 
would  implore  the  man  to  leave  off ;  but  without  troubling 
himself  about  their  cries,  he  would  reply,  speaking  fright- 
fully through  his  nose,  "that  it  did  hib  no  harb,"  and  sing 
in  this  singular  voice  the  "  Fleuve  du  Tage,"  which  he  ac- 
companied on  a  guitar. 

I  could  not  endure  the  sight  of  this  trick,  and  would 
turn  my  head  away  in  horror  when  the  troubadour  drew 
out  the  sword,  and  begged  us  to  notice  that  it  was  stained 
with  blood. 

Still,  on  reflection,  I  was  certain  the  man  could  not 
really  pierce  his  stomach  thus,  and  that  there  must  be 
some  trick  concealed. 


428  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOTJDIN. 

My  love  of  the  marvellous  made  me  desire  to  know  it ; 
hence,  I  applied  to  the  invulnerable,  and  on  condition  of  a 
certain  sum,  and  promises  not  to  use  it,  he  sold  me  his 
secret. 

I  may,  in  my  turn,  communicate  it  to  the  public  without 
asking  from  them  the  same  promise.  The  trick  is,  how- 
ever, rather  ingenious. 

The  performer  was  very  thin  —  an  indispensable  quality 
for  the  success  of  the  trick.  He  pressed  in  his  stomach 
very  tightly  with  a  waist-belt,  and  produced  the  following 
result :  the  vertebral  column  being  unable  to  bend,  served 
as  a  support,  and  the  intestines  gave  way  and  fell  in  about 
half  the  space  they  originally  occupied.  The  mountebank 
then  substituted  for  the  suppressed  part  a  card-board 
stomach  which  restored  him  to  his  original  condition,  and 
the  whole  being  concealed  beneath  a  flesh-colored  tricot, 
appeared  to  form  part  of  his  body.  On  either  side,  above 
the  hips,  two  ribbon  rosettes  hid  the  apertures  by  which 
the  sword-point  would  go  in  and  out,  these  openings  being 
connected  by  a  leathern  scabbard  which  led  the  weapon 
securely  from  one  end  to  the  other,  while,  in  order  to  pro- 
duce the  blood,  a  sponge  filled  with  a  red  liquid  was  placed 
in  the  middle  of  the  sheath.  The  knives  in  the  nostrils 
were  a  reality.  The  invulnerable  was  very  pug-nosed, 
which  allowed  him  to  draw  the  cartilage  of  the  nose  up 
prior  to  the  introduction  of  the  knives. 

I  possessed  the  necessary  physical  qualifications  for  the 
sabre  trick,  but  none  for  that  of  the  knives.  I  did  not 
attempt  the  first,  much  less  the  second. 

By  the  way,  I  may  remark  that,  when  a  lad,  I  used  to 
perform  two  miracles,  which  might  be  useful  to  the  Aissa- 
oua,  if  they  were  ever  told  of  them.  I  will  explain  them 
here. 


THE  NAIL  IN  THE  EYE.  429 

The  corn-curer  who  taught  me  to  juggle,  also  showed 
me  a  very  curious  trick,  consisting  in  thrusting  a  small 
nail  into  the  right  eye,  which  is  then  made  to  pass  into 
the  left  eye,  thence  into  the  mouth,  and  end  by  returning 
into  the  right  eye. 

It  may  be  imagined  how  I  burned  with  the  fire  of  necro- 
mancy, since  I  had  the  courage  to  practise  this  trick, 
which  I  found  charming.  A  very  disagreeable  circum- 
stance, however,  deprived  me  of  my  faith  in  the  effect  pro- 
duced by  it. 

I  sometimes  spent  the  evening  at  a  lady's  house  who 
had  two  daughters.  I  thought  I  could  not  select  a  better 
place  for  my  first  performance,  and  asked  leave  to  do  the 
trick.  Of  course  this  permission  was  granted,  and  a  cir- 
cle was  formed  round  me. 

"Ladies,"  I  said,  with  a  certain  degree  of  emphasis, 
"  I  am  invulnerable.  To  furnish  you  with  a  proof,  I  could 
easily  stab  myself  with  a  dagger,  a  knife,  or  any  other 
sharp  instrument ;  but  I  fear  lest  the  sight  of  blood  might 
produce  too  agitating  an  effect  on  you.  Hence,  I  will 
offer  you  another  proof  of  my  supernatural  powers."  And 
I  performed  my  famous  trick  of  "the  nail  in  the  eye." 

The  effect  of  this  scene  was  most  unexpected,  for  the 
performance  was  scarce  over  ere  one  of  the  young  ladies 
was  taken  ill  and  fainted.  The  evening's  amusement  was 
disturbed,  as  may  be  supposed,  and  fearing  some  recrimi- 
nations, I  bolted  without  saying  a  word,  declaring  that  I 
would  never  be  caught  again  at  such  tricks. 

This,  however,  is  the  explanation  of  the  trick : 

A  small  lead  or  silver  pin  may  be  introduced,  without 
the  slightest  feeling  of  pain,  in  the  corner  of  the  eye,  near 
the  lacrymal  duct,  between  the  lower  eyelid  and  the  pupil ; 
and,  strangely  enough,  this  piece  of  metal  once  introduced, 


430  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOTJDIN. 

you  do  not  in  the  least  notice  its  presence.  To  bring  it 
out  again,  you  need  only  press  it  with  the  finger. 

If  desirous  to  perform  the  trick  I  have  alluded  to,  you 
proceed  in  the  following  way : 

After  secretly  placing  one  of  these  small  nails  in  the 
left  eye,  and  another  in  the  mouth,  you  commence  as  fol- 
low*: 

You  openly  thrust  a  nail  into  your  right  eye,  then, 
pressing  the  skin  with  the  end  of  the  finger,  you  pretend 
to  pass  it  through  the  nose  into  the  left  eye,  whence  you 
withdraw  the  one  put  in  beforehand.  This  you  return 
again  to  the  eye,  and  the  nail  appears  to  pass  into  the 
mouth,  whence  you  produce  the  one  already  hidden  there, 
and  thence  into  the  right  eye,  whence  you  withdraw  the 
one  originally  inserted. 

When  this  is  done,  you  go  on  one  side  and  remove  the 
nail  still  remaining  in  the  left  eye. 

But,  to  return  to  the  last  trick  of  the  A'issaoua,  which 
consists  in  walking  over  hot  iron,  and  passing  the  tongue 
over  incandescent  plates  of  the  same  metal. 

The  Aissaoua  who  walks  over  hot  iron  does  nothing  ex- 
traordinary, if  we  consider  the  conditions  under  which  the 
trick  is  performed. 

He  quickly  glides  his  heel  along  the  iron;  but  the 
lower-class  Arabs,  who  all  walk  with  naked  feet,  have  the 
lower  part  of  the  foot  as  hard  as  a  horse's  hoof,  hence, 
this  horny  part  burns  without  occasioning  the  slightest 
pain. 

And,  besides,  may  not  chance  have  taught  the  Aissaoua 
certain  precautions  known  to  more  than  one  European 
juggler,  before  Dr.  Sementrici  proved  their  use  and  ex- 
plained them  to  the  public  ? 

Let  us  quote  some  performances  of  our  own  mounte- 


RED-HOT  IRON.  431 

banks,  and  we  shall  find  that  the  followers  of  the  Aissa  as 
miracle-mongers  are  a  long  way  behindhand  in  their  pre- 
tended marvels. 

In  February,  1677,  an  Englishman,  of  the  name  of 
Richardson,  came  to  Paris,  and  gave  some  very  curious 
performances,  which  proved,  according  to  his  statement, 
his  incombustibility. 

He  was  seen  to  roast  a  piece  of  meat  on  his  tongue, 
light  a  piece  of  charcoal  in  his  mouth  by  means  of  a  pair 
of  bellows,  seize  a  bar  of  red-hot  iron  in  his  hand,  or  hold 
it  between  his  teeth. 

This  Englishman's  servant  published  his  master's  secret, 
which  may  be  found  in  the  Journal  des  Sciences.* 

In  1809,  a  Spaniard,  of  the  name  of  Leonetto,  gave 
performances  at  Paris.  He  also  handled  a  bar  of  red-hot 
iron  with  impunity,  passed  it  through  his  hair,  or  stepped 
upon  it ;  drank  boiling  oil,  plunged  his  fingers  into  melted 
lead,  put  some  on  his  tongue,  and  ended  his  performance 
by  licking  a  piece  of  red-hot  iron. 

This  extraordinary  man  attracted  the  attention  of  Pro- 
fessor Sementrici,  who  began  carefully  watching  him. 

The  professor  remarked  that  the  tongue  of  the  incom- 
bustible was  covered  with  a  grey  layer,  and  this  discovery 
led  him  to  try  some  experiments  on  himself.  He  dis- 
covered that  rubbing  in  a  solution  of  alum,  evaporated  to 
a  spongy  state,  rendered  the  skin  insensible  to  the  action 
of  red-hot  iron.  He  also  rubbed  himself  with  soap,  and 
found  that  even  the  hair  did  not  burn  when  in  that  state. 

Satisfied  with  these  investigations,  the  physician  rubbed 
his  tongue  with  soap  and  a  solution  of  alum,  and  the  red- 
hot  iron  produced  no  sensation  on  him. 

*  1677,  first  edition,  page  41,  and  second  edition,  1680,  pp.  24, 147, 
252. 


432  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

The  tongue,  when  thus  prepared,  could  also  receive 
boiling  oil,  which  grew  cold,  and  could  then  be  swallowed. 

M.  Sementrici  also  detected  that  the  melted  lead  Leo- 
netto  employed  was  only  Arcet's  metal,  fusible  at  the 
temperature  of  boiling  water.  (For  further  details  consult 
the  historic  notice  of  M.  Julia  de  Fontenelle,  in  Roret's 
Manuel  des  JSorciers,  page  181.) 

These  explanations  may  appear  sufficient  to  disprove  the 
pretended  incombustibility  of  the  Aissaoua ;  still,  I  will 
add  a  personal  fact,  whence  the  conclusion  can  be  drawn 
that  a  man  need  not  be  inspired  by  Allah  or  Aissa  to  play 
with  red-hot  metals. 

Reading  one  day  the  Comus,  a  scientific  review,  I  found 
a  critique  of  a  work  called  Study  on  Bodies  in  a  Spheroidal 
Shape,  by  M.  Boutigny  (d'Evreux).  The  editor  of  the 
review,  the  Abbe*  Moigno,  quotes  several  of  the  most  in- 
teresting passages,  among  them  being  the  following : 

"We  passed  our  fingers  through  jets  of  red-hot  metal" 
(M.  Boutigny  is  speaking).  "  We  plunged  our  hands  into 
moulds  and  crucibles  filled  with  metal  that  had  just  run 
from  a  Wilkinson,  and  of  which  the  radiation  was  insup- 
portable, even  at  a  long  distance.  We  carried  on  these 
experiments  for  more  than  two  hours,  and  Madame  Cou- 
let,  who  was  present,  allowed  her  daughter,  a  child  of 
from  eight  to  ten  years,  to  put  her  hand  in  a  crucible  of 
red-hot  metal,  which  caused  not  the  slightest  injury." 

Knowing  the  character  of  the  learned  abbe",  as  well  as 
that  of  the  celebrated  naturalist  and  author  of  the  work, 
it  was  not  possible  to  doubt :  still,  I  must  say,  this  fact 
appeared  to  me  so  impossible,  that  my  mind  refused  to 
accept  it,  and  I  wished  to  see,  that  I  might  believe. 

I  decided  on  calling  on  M.  Boutigny,  and  expressed  to 
him  my  wish  to  see  so  interesting  an  experiment,  while 


NO  DANGER,  BUT  SOME  FEAR.          433 

carefully  ayoiding  any  expression  of  doubt  on  the  subject. 

This  gentleman  received  me  kindly,  and  proposed  to 
repeat  the  experiment  before  me,  when  I  might  have  an 
opportunity  to  wash  my  hands  in  molten  metal. 

The  proposition  was  attractive,  scientifically  speaking ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  I  had  some  fears,  which  the 
reader  will  appreciate,  I  think.  In  the  event  of  a  mistaky 
I  should  reduce  my  hands  to  charcoal,  and  I  was  bound 
to  take  the  greater  care  of  them  as  they  had  been  such 
precious  instruments  to  me.  Hence  I  hesitated  with  my 
reply. 

"  Do  you  not  place  confidence  in  me  ?"  M.  Boutigny 
asked. 

"Oh,  certainly,  sir,  I  have  plenty  of  confidence,  but — " 

"But  you  are  afraid — out  witii  it!"  the  doctor  inter- 
rupted me,  with  a  laugh.  "Well,  to  ease  your  mind,  I 
will  try  the  temperature  of  the  liquid  before  you  place 
your  hands  in  it." 

"And  what  is  about  the  temperature  of  molten  metal?" 

"  Close  on  one  thousand  six  hundred  degrees." 

"One  thousand  six  hundred  degrees?"  I  exclaimed. 
"  Oh  !  the  experiment  must  be  splendid :  I  consent." 

On  the  day  appointed  by  M.  Boutigny,  we  proceeded  to 
Mr.  Davidson's  foundry  at  La  Villette,  after  he  had  granted 
us  permission  to  make  the  experiment. 

I  was  strangely  affc-cted  on  entering  this  vast  establish- 
ment ;  the  deafening  noise  produced  by  the  immense  blasts, 
the  flames  escaping  from  the  furnaces,  the  sparkling  jets 
transported  by  powerful  machines  and  running  into  gigan- 
tic moulds,  the  wiry,  muscular  workmen,  blackened  by 
smoke  and  dust, —  all  this  medley  of  men  and  things  pro- 
duced a  strange  and  rather  solemn  effect  upon  me. 


2C 


434  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOTJDIN. 

The  manager  came  up  to  us  and  pointed  out  the  furnace 
to  which  we  were  to  proceed  for  our  experiment. 

While  waiting  for  a  jet  of  metal  to  run,  we  remained 
for  a  few  moments  in  silence  near  the  furnace ;  then  we 
commenced  the  following  conversation,  which  was  certainly 
not  of  a  nature  to  encourage  me : 

"  I  would  only  repeat  this  experiment,  which  I  am  not 
fond  of,  for  your  sake,"  M.  Boutigny  said;  "I  confess 
that,  though  I  am  morally  sure  of  the  result,  I  always  feel 
an  emotion  which  I  cannot  dispel." 

"If  that  be  the  case,"  I  replied,  "suppose  we  go?  I 
will  believe  your  word." 

"  No,  no ;  I  am  bound  to  show  you  this  curious  pheno- 
menon. But,  by  the  way,"  the  learned  doctor  added, 
"let  me  see  your  hands." 

He  took  them  in  his. 

"Hang  it,"  he  went  on,  "they  are  very  dry  for  our 
experiment." 

"  You  think  so  ?" 

"  Certainly." 

"  Then  it  is  dangerous?" 

"It  might  be  so." 

"  In  that  case,  we  will  go,"  I  said,  turning  to  the  door. 

"  That  would  be  a  pity,"  my  companion  replied,  holding 
me  back;  "stay,  dip  your  hands  in  this  bucket  of  water, 
dry  them  well,  and  they  will  be  sufficiently  damp." 

I  must  mention  that  to  insure  the  success  of  this  mar- 
vellous experiment  no  other  condition  is  requisite  than  to 
have  the  hands  slightly  damp.  I  regret  I  can  offer  no 
explanations  as  to  the  principle  of  the  phenomenon,  for 
this  would  require  many  a  long  chapter ;  hence  I  will  refer 
my  readers  to  M.  Boutigny's  work.  It  will  be  enough  to 
state  that  the  metal,  when  in  a  state  of  fusion,  is  kept  at 


MOLTEN  IRON.  435 

a  distance  from  the  skin  by  a  repulsive  force,  which  op- 
poses an  insurmountable  barrier. 

I  had  scarce  finished  wiping  my  hands  when  the  fur- 
nace was  opened,  and  a  jet  of  molten  metal,  about  the  thick- 
ness of  my  arm,  burst  forth.  Sparks  flew  in  every  direc- 
tion, as  if  it  were  a  firework  performance. 

"Wait  a  few  minutes,"  M.  Boutigny  said,  "till  the 
metal  is  cleansed,  for  it  would  be  dangerous  to  try  our  ex- 
periment at  this  moment." 

Five  minutes  later  the  stream  of  liquid  fire  left  off  bub- 
bling and  emitting  scoriae ;  it  became,  indeed,  so  limpid 
and  brilliant,  that  it  scorched  our  eyes  at  a  few  yards  off. 

All  at  once  my  companion  walked  up  to  the  furnace, 
and  calmly  began  washing  his  hands  in  the  metal  as  if  it 
had  been  lukewarm  water. 

I  make  no  pretence  to  bravery ;  I  confess  at  this  mo- 
ment my  heart  beat  as  if  it  would  burst,  and  yet,  when  M. 
Boutigny  ended  his  strange  ablutions,  I  walked  forward 
in  my  turn  with  a  determination  that  proved  a  certain 
strength  of  will.  I  imitated  my  professor's  movements,  I 
literally  dabbled  in  the  burning  liquid,  and,  in  my  joy,  in- 
spired by  this  marvellous  operation,  I  took  a  handful  of 
the  metal  and  threw  it  in  the  air,  and  it  fell  back  in  a 
fire-shower  on  the  ground. 

The  impression  I  felt  in  touching  this  molten  iron  can 
only  be  compared  to  what  I  should  have  experienced  in 
handling  liquid  velvet,  if  I  may  express  myself  so. 

I  now  ask  what  are  the  red-hot  bars  of  the  A'issaoua,  in 
comparison  to  the  enormous  temperature  to  which  my 
hands  had  been  exposed  ? 

The  old  and  new  miracles  of  the  incombustibles  are, 
therefore,  explained  by  the  experiments  of  a  skillful  na- 
turalist, wjio,  while  making  no  pretence  to  trickery,  only 


436  MEMOIRS  OF  ROBERT-HOUDIN. 

appreciates  such  phenomena  in  their  relation  to  the  im- 
mutable laws  by  virtue  of  which  they  are  accomplished. 


INDEX. 


A. 

Academician's,  predictions,  370. 

Accident  at  the  Ode'on,  315. 

Accomplice,  a  kind,  135. 

Acrobatic  canaries,  39. 

Africa,  life  in,  373. 

Ai'ssaoua,  miracles  of  the  sect  of, 

396. 

Alarum,  a  novel,  87. 
Alarum-light,  the,  195. 
Albertus   Magnus  and  his  brazen 

man,  157. 

Alboni,  Madame,  337. 
Algeria,  journey  to,  372 ;  reception 

in,  373. 
Ali-Ben-el-IIadji     Moussa,      "the 

slave  of  God,"  393. 
Ambassador,  Houdin  as,  872. 
Amputation  extraordinary,  390. 
Anderson,     "  Professor,"    his    fla- 
grant puffery,  326. 
Angers,  journey  to,  68;  arrival  at, 

61 ;  Fair  at,  61. 
Anthon,     Mr.,     buys    Automaton 

Chess-player,  171. 
Antonia,  story  of,  114;  at  Constan- 
tinople, 125;  death  of,  130. 
Antonio,  the  nurse,  56 ;  his  confes- 
sion, 73;  in  Paris,  180;  his  wife, 
184. 
Arab  address  to  Houdin,  391. 


Arab  chiefs  convoked,  878. 

Arcet's  metal,  432. 

Artificial  man,  the,  157. 

Artist's  home,  the,  194. 

Asp,  automaton,  161. 

Athlete,  an  Arabian,  383. 

Aubusson,  accident  at,  87. 

Audience,  studying  an,  142;  a 
sleepy,  243;  an  indignant,  267. 

Auguste,  the  caterer,  203. 

Auriol,  Houdin's  automaton  clown, 
179. 

Author's  overture,  13. 

Automata:  Brazen  fly,  156;  by 
Vaucanson,  169.  Houdin's — the 
pastry  cook,  179;  Auriol  and 
Dubereau,  ibid;  orange-tree,  ib.; 
time-dial,  ib. 

Automaton,  Houdin's  first,  86; 
Harlequin  flute-player,  158;  tam- 
bourine-player, 159;  artificial 
duck,  169;  discovery  of  its  trick, 
160;  chess-player,  162;  history 
of,  162. 

Autumnal  fetes  at  Algiers,  378. 
Avalanche,  the  human,  351. 
Aviary,  a  wonderful,  39. 

B. 

Bab-Azoun  Theatre  in  Algiers,  375; 
3acon,    Roger,    makes    a    brazen 
head,  156. 


438 


INDEX. 


Balls,  juggling  -with  the,  49. 
Baths  of  Germany,  368. 
Belgium,  Houdin's  visit  to,  201. 
Belleville,  retreat  to,  198. 
Benefactor,  a  public,  29. 
Berlin,  three  months  in,  369. 
Bernard,  Colonel;  gives  lessons  to 

Houdin,  191. 

Berthoud  on  Clock-making,  43. 
Black-silk  cap,  story  of,  301. 
Blois: — birth-place  of  Houdin,  17; 

Houdin  retires  to,  369, 
Bores,  how  to  get  rid  of,  264. 
Bosco,  the  conjurer,  184. 
Botany,  lessons  in,  37. 
Bottle-trick  at  Manchester,  349. 
Bou-Allem's  house,  402. 
Bought  and  sold,  31. 
Bouquet  a  la  Reine,  355. 
Boutigny,  with  red  hot  metal,  482. 
Box,  the  mysterious,  383. 
Brazen  automaton  fly,  156. 
Brazen  head,  Bacon  and  Bungey's, 

156. 

Breguet,  the  Cardinal's,  110, 
Broken-English,  Houdin's,  346. 
Broken  watch,  the,  109. 
Brother  and  sister,  116;  before  the 

Sultan,  125. 

Brunnow,  the  Baron,  341. 
Brussels  Theatre,  engagement  at, 

276;   journey  to,  279;    troubles 

en  route,   281 ;   arrives   at,  287 ; 

success,  290;  but  no  money,  291 ; 

cheated  on  all  sides,  292. 
Buckingham   Palace,    Houdin    at, 

353 ;  short  commons  at,  357. 
Bungey,  Thomas,  makes  a  brazen 

head,  156. 

Bush-Aga,  abode  of  a,  402. 
Bust-making,  extraordinary,  801. 


C. 

lagliostro  at  Rome,  105. 

Cagliostro,  the;  Houdin's  comic 
journal,  254. 

Cagliostro's  casket,  309;  his  seal, 
308. 

Cambridge,  Houdin  at,  359. 

Canard,  a  real,  160. 

Canaries,  the  cage  of,  38. 

Candle-lighting,  227. 

Caravan,  a  conjurer's,  56. 

Card-rook,  a,  211. 

Cards,  a  duel  with,  85. 

Cardinal's  watch,  106 ;  broken,  109; 
melted  down,  111;  restored  whole, 
112. 

Carlosbach,  Dr.,  the  conjurer,  27. 

Carpentier,  Aristide  le,  the  anti- 
quarian, 271. 

Carriage  smashed,  286. 

Castellan,  Madame,  337. 

Castelli,  Signer,  eats  a  man  alive, 
69. 

Catherine  II.  plays  with  the  auto- 
maton chess-player,  169 ;  at- 
tempts to  cheat,  170;  wants  to 
buy  the  figure,  171. 

Celestial  Empire,  the,  236. 

Challenge  to  Houdin,  268. 

Charivari,  the,  252. 

Charlatan  bills,  Anderson's,  329. 

Charles  V.,  iron  fly  presented  to, 
155. 

Chausse'e  d'Antin,  scene  in,  272. 

Cheat,  punishment  of  a,  83. 

Cheating  cards,  diagrams  of,  216. 

Chess-player,  history  of  the  auto- 
maton (see  Kempelen),  162-172. 

Chester  Theatre,  England,  289. 

Chinese  and  their  conjuring  tricks, 
225. 


INDEX. 


Choosing  a  Profession,  26. 

Cleopatra's  asp,  161. 

Clipping  the  coin,  51. 

Clock,  the  mysterious,  195. 

Clockmaking,  treatise  on,  43. 

Clowns,  Houdin's  automaton,  179. 

Coffee,  the  conjurer's,  382. 

Collation,  a  magical,  364. 

Colchester,  audience  and  the  nuts, 
865. 

Coniponium,  the,  172;  repaired  by 
Houdin,  175. 

Comte,  the  magician,  141;  his 
tricks,  143;  his  cafe",  144;  per- 
forms at  the  Tuilleries,  146;  his 
King  of  Hearts,  147;  hat-trick, 
148;  his  ventriloquism,  149; 
visits  Houdin,  150. 

Comus,  the  conjurer,  83. 

Conjuring  bullets,  413. 

Conscientious  audience,  298. 

Constantinople,  conjuring  at,  121. 

Convocation  of  Arab  chiefs,  378. 

Cookery  and  clockwork,  194. 

Cossack,  the  automaton,  227. 

Course  of  miracles,  a,  422. 

Court  Journal',  356. 

Cousin  Robert,  421. 

Covent  Garden  Theatre,  335. 

Critic,  a  severe,  204. 

Cronier,  the  mechanician,  161. 

Crystal  Balls,  the,  312. 

Cura^-oa  from  the  bottle,  360. 

Curious  discussion,  377. 

Custom  at  Colchester,  365. 

I). 

Dantnn,  junior,   the    caricaturist, 

299;  makes  a  bust,  801. 
D'Avaray,  Due,  37. 
Dazzling  picture,  a,  343. 


De  Paris,  the  Count,  231. 
Deception,  a  rival's,  99. 
Delay  at  Algiers,  875. 
Delirium,  influence  of,  53. 
Dial,  Houdin's  magic,  179. 
Diagrams   of  cheating  cards,  216 

and  218. 

Diamond  cut  diamond,  150. 
Diplomatist  and  conjurer,  341. 
Director  of  the  Belgian  Customs, 

283 ;  tricks  upon,  284. 
Doctor,  a  strange,  55. 
Domingo,  the  negro,  229. 
Dormeuil,  theatrical  manager,  336. 
Dorval,  Madame,  benefit  of,  314. 
Doubtful  applause,  75. 
Dreams,  phantasmagoria  of,  54. 
Dubureau,      Houdin's     automaton 

clown,  179. 

Duhart,  chief  of  the  claquers,  318. 
Dumas'  Monte  Christo,  336. 

E. 

Electric  shock,  386. 

Electric  touch,  an,  264, 

Electric  clocks,  future  of,  421. 

Electricity  applied  to  mechanism 
by  Houdin,  370. 

Emilc-lloudin,  256;  performances 
by,  258. 

England  invaded  by  French  per- 
formers, 334. 

English  theatrical  costume,  332. 

Escamoteur,  the,  158. 

Etherial  suspension,  312. 

Exhibition  of  1844,  281;  medal 
voted  to  Houdin,  238. 

Expedient,  an,  331. 

Experiments,  curious,  256. 

K  v  r  and  hand,  practice  of,  49. 


440 


INDEX. 


F. 

Failure,  an  utter,  247. 

Fair-Unknown,  a,  258. 

Family  tickets,  143. 

Fancy  Fair,  Sir  A.  Webster's,  337. 

Fantasia  by  Arabs,  378. 

Fantastic  portfolio,  312. 

Fantastic  Soire'es,  Houdin's,  244. 

Farewell  tour,  Houdin's,  368. 

Father  Roujol,  152. 

Faubourg  St.  Germain,  270. 

Festival  of  Nankin,  228. 

Filings,  how  to  make,  42. 

Financial  crisis,  a,  197. 

First  bill,  Houdin's,  245. 

First  fruits  of  labor,  135. 

First  game  played  by  Automaton 
chess-player,  163;  the  Turk 
beats  the  Doctor,  164. 

First  magician  in  France,  181. 

First  performance  at  Paris  by  Hou- 
din,  246. 

First  public  performance,  Torrini's, 
97. 

Five-franc  pieces,  the  magical,  408. 

Flowers,  the  birth  of,  145. 

Flute-player,  automaton,  159. 

Forey,  Eugene,  his  drawing  of  Hou- 
din's theatre,  252. 

Fortune,  a  reverse  of,  192. 

Fortunatus's  hat,  229. 

Four  balls,  juggling  with,  49. 

Free  admissions,  320. 

French  towns,  how  lighted,  46. 

Fricot,  a  dish  of,  199. 

Future  experiments,  Houdin's,  420. 

G. 

Galerie  de  Valois,  237. 
Garde  Fran9aise,  312. 
Ge"net,  an  optimist  manager,  360. 


German-flute-player,      automaton, 

159. 
Germany,  Houdin's  tour  through, 

368. 

Giovanni  Torrini,  127. 
Glove,  Victoria's,  355. 
Gold-fish  trick,  225. 
Grand  Turk,  the,  122. 
Gratuitous  performance,  297. 
Great  personages,  339. 
Great  Wizard   of   the  North,   his 

frightful  puffery,  326. 
Greek,  a  modern,  213. 
Grindstone,  a  nose  on  the,  43. 
Grisi,  the  Count  Edmond  de,  90. 
Grisi,  Madame,  337. 
Gun-trick,  a  tragic,  129. 
Gymnastic  machinery,  211. 
Gymnas,  performance  of,  319. 

H. 

Hamilton,  successor  to  Houdin,  367: 
becomes  his  brother-in-law,  368. 

Happy  moment,  a,  203. 

Harem,  the  Sultan's,  124. 

Harlequin  automata,  77 ;  Phi- 
lippe's, 228. 

Hat,  the  spoiled,  134. 

Hearts,  the  King  of,  147. 

Her  Majesty's  Theatre,  323. 

Hertford,  Houdin  at,  360. 

Hints  for  sharpers,  219. 

Hippodrome  of  Paris,  244. 

Hired  applause,  319. 

Historic  Theatre  of  Paris,  336. 

Home,  return  to,  136, 

Homicide  by  imprudence,  130. 

Houdin,  Mademoiselle,  140;  the 
conjurer  marries  her,  141. 

Houdin,  M.,  the  mechanical  artist, 
141. 


INDEX. 


441 


Houdin-Robert,  birth  and  parent- 
age, 17;  adventures,  passion. 
Human  avalanche,  351. 


Idler,  a  country,  26. 
Illustration,  the,  252. 
Incantation,  the,  263. 
Inexhaustible  bottle,  312. 
Ingot,  the  magic,  112. 
Inkstand,  to  make  a  fortune   by, 

177. 

Inquisition  at  Rome,  104. 
Interior  of  Africa,  Houdin  in  the, 

398. 

Inventor,  calculations  of  an,  177. 
Invulnerability,  385 ;  secret  of,  428. 
Ireland,  Houdin  in,  366. 
Iron  automaton  fly,  155. 
Italian  conjurer,  157. 
Italy,  conjuring  in,  90-119. 

J. 

Jenny  Lind,  323. 

Judicious  puffing,  325. 

Jules  de  Rovere,  the  conjurer,  153. 

K. 

Kabyle  rendered  powerless,  384. 

Kabylia,  revolt  in,  874. 

Kitchen  of  Parafaragannus,  229. 

Kempelen,  M.  de,  Viennese  me- 
chanician, 162;  visits  Dr.  Osloff 
at  Riga,  163;  invents  the  auto- 
maton chess-player,  163;  travels 
with  it  to  Russia,  168;  baffles 
the  Czarina,  171 ;  visits  England, 
171. 

Knowles,  the  manager,  345. 

Koppen  exhibits  the  Componium, 
172. 


Lablache,  the  singer,  337. 

Ladies,  pleasing  the,  146. 

Lamp,  the  stolen,  46. 

Lariviere,  the  Abbe",  head  of  Or- 
leans College,  23. 

Lawyer's  office,  Houdin  in,  35. 

Le  Carpentier,  Aristide,  271. 

Leclerc  invents  the  Melephone,  226. 

Lemnos,  309. 

Lenoir,  the  dancing  master,  64. 

Leonetto  with  red  hot  iron,  431. 

Lesprit,  the  conjurer,  187. 

Life,  most  important  event  of,  45. 

Linnaeus,  study  of,  38. 

Lottery,  M.  Philippe's,  223. 

Louis  Napoleon  at  Fulham,  339. 

Louis  Philippe  at  the  Palace  of  In- 
dustry, 231;  and  the  automaton 
writer,  238;  at  St.  Cloud,  303. 

Louis  XVIII.  and  Comte,  146. 

M. 

Macalister,  the  magician,  225;  in 
Paris,  229. 

Macon,  the  fair  of,  148. 

Maelzel  owns  the  automaton  chess- 
player, and  takes  it  to  America, 
172. 

Magic  ingot,  112. 

Malice,  a  conjurer  through,  101. 

Manchester,  a  city  of  chimney- 
sweeps, 352. 

Manchester  Theatre,  Houdin  at, 
845. 

Manipulation,  practice  makes  skill 
in,  49. 

Marabout,  shot  by  one,  387. 

Marabout,  mystification  of  one,  408. 

Marquis  deceived,  117. 

Mario,  the  singer,  337. 


442 


INDEX. 


Marseilles,  Torrini  at,  126 ;  Houdin 
at,  419. 

Mechanical  snuff-box,  35. 

Mechanician's  shop  on  wheels,  78. 

Melephone,  the,  226. 

Miette,  the  conjurer,  187. 

Minor  miseries,  295. 

Miracles,  a  course  of,  422. 

Mitchell,  London  manager,  322; 
Jenny  Lind's  box,  323. 

Modest  living,  199. 

Molten  metal,  washing  the  hands 
in,  433. 

Monte  Christo,  at  Covent  Garden, 
335;  at  St.  James's  Theatre,  336. 

Moor,  disappearance  of  a,  388. 

Morrison's  pills,  223. 

Mountebanks  in  Paris,  311. 

Mouse-power  to  raise  water,  21. 

Muhammad,  the  Arab  guide,  break- 
fast with,  400;  he  deserts,  401. 

Murderer's  confession,  59. 

Music-master,  the,  182. 

Musky  compliments,  151. 

Mystification,  151. 

Mystification  extraordinary,  117. 

Mystifier  mystified,  150. 

N. 

Nail  in  the  eye,  429. 
Nankin,  festival  of  the  Court  of,  228. 
Naples,  the  King  of,  100. 
Napoleon  of  Necromancy,  328. 
Napoleon  III.  in  England,  339. 
Necromancy  in  Rome,  105. 
Need,  a  friend  in,  285. 
Neptune's  basins,  229. 
Nevers,  ventriloquism  at,  148. 
Neveu,  Colonel  de,  371 ;  his  work 

on  Algiers,  396. 
New  Joe  Miller,  a,  329. 


New  studies,  Houdin's,  253. 
Nightingale,  mechanical,  its  song, 

207. 

Nomadic  life,  78. 
Noriet,  watchmaker  and  sculptor, 

50. 

Novel  lottery,  a,  223. 
Number  sixty-nine,  268. 
Nuremburg  dolls,  200. 
Nuts  at  Colchester,  365. 

0. 

Ode"on,  performance  at  the,  314. 

Olivier,  the  conjurer,  126. 

Omelette  accident,  133. 

Omen,  an,  231. 

Open-air  studies,  811. 

Optimist  manager,  360. 

Orange-tree,  Houdin's  mysterious, 
179. 

Origin  of  flowers,  312. 

Orleans,  Houdin  at  College  of,  20. 

Orleans,  Duchess  of,  231 ;  at  St. 
Cloud,  309. 

Orleans  family  in  London,  355. 

Osloff,  Dr.,  saves  Worousky's  life, 
162;  plays  first  game  with  auto- 
maton chess-player,  163. 

P. 

Page,  sawing  asunder  of  one,  123. 

Palais  Royal  Theatre,  335. 

Panic,  Houdin's,  249;  of  an  Arab 
audience,  389. 

Papin,  Denis,  inventor  of  steam  en- 
gine, 17. 

Parafaragarmus,  kitchen  of,  229. 

Paris,  Robert-Houdin  goes  to,  141 ; 
return  to,  from  Brussels,  292; 


INDEX. 


443 


from  England,  366 ;  retires  from, 

868. 

Park  Theatre,  Brussels,  287. 
Pastry-cook,  Houdin's  automaton, 

179. 

Peacock,  the  magic,  228. 
Perambulating  house,  61. 
Perrault's  fairies,  157.  *  . 

Philippe  Talon,  the  conjurer,  221 ; 

visits  London,  ib. ;  at  Aberdeen, 

222;  his  lottery,  223;  in  Paris, 

227. 

Philter,  a  lady  wants  a,  262. 
Piarot,  Bosco's  pigeon,  189. 
Pigeon-trick,  Bosco's,  187 ;  his 

work,  191. 

Piller  of  the  State,  a,  223. 
Pillory,  spectators  on  the,  850. 
Pinetti,  Chevalier,  92 ;  treachery  of 

94. 

Pirlemont  Hotel,  Brussels,  286. 
Pistol-trick  in  Africa,  412. 
Piquet,  a  blind  man's  game  at,  64; 

the  game  of,  81 ;  a  duel  at,  85. 
Pius  VII.  and  the  conjurer,  107. 
Pocket,  tauter  la  coupe  in  the,  50. 
Poison  in  the  dish,  52. 
Police,  the  Prefect  of,  238. 
Poor  Piarot,  189. 
Pope,  conjuring  before  the,  107. 
Porter,  tyranny  of,  288. 
Porter's  power,  machine  of,  88. 
Fot-au-feu,  194. 

Powdered  glass,  an  appetiser,  426. 
Prepared  playing  cards,  214. 
Press,  the  English,  338. 
Prestidigitateur,  title  first  assumed 

by  Jules  dc  Rovbre,  154. 
Prodigal  son,  130. 
Prophet,  a  fallible,  250. 
Protector,  a  powerful,  818. 


Punch's  doings,  223. 
Punch  bowl,  the  magic,  882. 

R. 

Race  for  time,  265. 
Ragout,  the  poisoned,  52. 
Rat,  the  captured,  21. 
Rat-trap,  a  novel,  23. 
Randon,  Marshal,  380. 
Recollections  of  the  soire'es,  254. 
Red-hot  metal,  feats  with,  432. 
Reforms  in  conjuring,  235. 
Rehearsal,  Houdin's  first,  241. 
Repast,  a  wizard's,  357. 
Retirement  from  Paris,  868. 
Revenge,  a  conjurer's,  102. 
Revolution  of  1848,  320. 
Reysolius,  his  artificial  man,  157. 
Richardson's  incombustibility,  431. 
Rings'  trick,  225. 
Ritter,  Captain,  899. 
Rival,  a  dangerous,  66. 
Robert,  the  elder,  father  of  Robert- 

Houdin,  hia  skill,  17;  death  of, 

208. 

Roger,  M.,  an  honest  lawyer,  87. 
Roger,  the  singer,  837. 
Romainville,  music  studies  in  the 

wood  of,  207. 
Rose-colored  tickets,  148. 
Royal  patronage,  344. 
Royalty,  insult  to,  101. 
Rrrrrrrrouit,  the  nightingale's,  207. 

S. 

Sabre-swallower,  the  French,  427. 
Saint's  head,  a,  200. 
Sand-bag  and  stirrup  trick,  33. 
Sauter  de  coupt,  84. 
Scheme  of  revenge,  108. 
School,  Houdin  at,  21. 
Sciences,  Royal  Academy  of,  158. 


444 


INDEX. 


Scientific  amusements,  44. 
Scotland,  Houdin  in,  366. 
Second-sight,  invention  of  the, 

255. 
Seductions   of  a  theatrical  agent, 

273. 
Selim  III.,  the  Sultan,  visits  Tor- 

rini,  122. 
Sementrici's  feats  with  hot  metal, 

431. 
Seven  thousand  francs    made  by 

filings,  208. 

Sharpers,  hints  for,  219. 
Skill,  a  duel  of,  102. 
Skillful  manager,  a,  143. 
Sleight-of-hand,  principle  of,  48; 

first  practice  in,  49. 
Soirees    Fantastiques   de   Robert- 

Houdin  in  London,  324. 
Sorcerer,  how  a  man  becomes  one, 

46. 

Spectators  in  the  pillory,  348. 
St.  Cloud,  Houdin  at  Palace  of,  303. 
St.  James's  Theatre,  London,  322; 

Houdin  at,   330;    Dormeuil   at, 

335. 
St.  Thomas  Aquinas    breaks    the 

brazen  man,  157. 
Stirrup-trick,  33. 
Storm  at  sea,  419. 
Strange  audience,  381. 
Strange  banners,  417. 
Strasburg,  tragedy  at,  129. 
Sugar-baker,  the  conjuring,  221. 
Sultan,  wives  of  the,  122. 

T. 

Taken  by  storm,  295. 
Talisman,  a,  387. 

Talon,  Philippe,  the  magician,  221. 
Tambourine-player,  an  automaton, 
159. 


Tambourine,  the  singer,  337. 

Tent-life  in  Algiers,  416. 

Theatre,   Houdin's,  in  the  Palais 

Royal,  237. 
Theatricals,  139. 

Theatrical  agent,  seductions  of,  273. 
Theatrical  bed,  a,  324. 
Three  people  make  an  audience, 

861. 

Time,  a  race  for,  265. 
Tiou,  the  nightingale's,  207. 
Too  small  a  theatre,  295. 
Tools,  Houdin's  early  love  of,  19. 
Torrini,  the  conjurer,  57;   relates 

his  history,  90  et  seq. ;   death  of, 

181. 
Tours,,  journey  to,  53;  ventriloquism 

at,  148. 
Toys,    conjurer's    distribution    of, 

254. 

Trepeze  tumbler,  the,  312. 
Trick,  a  fatal,  129. 
Trick,  Houdin's  first,  47. 
Tricks  of  the  Ai'ssaoua,  423. 
Tuilleries,  Comte  at  the,  146. 
Turks,  performances  to  the,  121. 
Twelve  hundred  francs  spent  on  a 

trick,  113.     x 
Two  sous-piece,  a  lucky,  281. 

U. 

Universal  Exhibition  of  1855,  medal 
from,  370. 

V. 

Vatican,  conjuring  in  the,  107. 

Vaucanson,  Jacques  de,  automaton 
maker,  160;  some  account  of, 
1G1 ;  asp  of  Cleopatra,  161. 

Vaudeville,  Houdin  at  the,  165. 

Vermifuge  balsam,  31. 


INDEX. 


445 


Ventriloquism  by  Comte,  148. 
Verdigris,  a  ragout  of,  52. 
Virgilius,  his  brazen  fly,  156. 
Visitors  in  Africa,  407. 
Victoria,    Queen,   340;    patronizes 

Houdin,  344. 

W. 

Watchmaking,  first  lessons  in,  41. 
Watch,  the  Cardinal's,  106;  broken, 

109;   melted  down,    111;  found 

whole,  in  the  Pope's  pocket,  112. 
Webster,    Sir  Arthur,  his  fete   at 

Fulham,  336;    Houdin  performs 

at,  343. 

Welcome  rest,  a,  867. 
Whiskey,  Houdin's  glass  of,  350. 
White  magic  before  the  Pope,  108. 


|  William  Tell  and  his  son,  127. 

Win,  the  way  to,  217. 

Wine,  a  torrent  of,  851. 

Wizard's  repast,  857. 

Wood-carver,  the,  200. 

Wood-cutting,  201. 

Worousky,  the  rebel,  his  life  saved 
by  Dr.  Osloff,  102;  a  great  chess- 
player, 163;  plays  the  automa- 
ton, 165;  at  Toula,  166;  plays 
Catherine  II.,  169;  visits  Eng- 
land, 171. 

Writing  and  drawing  automaton, 
196;  ita  completion,  204. 

Z. 

Zilbermann,  the  gambler,  81. 


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